The Heart of Chaos
by AWideWorldOfFanfics
Summary: From chaos and destruction comes life again. Rosalie Wheaton doesn't know very much. She knows that her real name isn't Rosalie Wheaton and she knows that she isn't human. When she finds out who she really is, nothing in her life will ever be the same. A/N: I don't own anything but the OC(s)!
1. Chapter 1

There were many things she didn't quite understand. One being how she had ended up in the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Her memories dated back to 2006, just a few years ago. Anything before that, there was black. A void full of absolute emptiness.

They found her in a corn field in Kansas, clothing shredded and burned, laying in the middle of a gaping hole. The townspeople called her an alien, a visitor from another planet, because of the strange markings burnt into the ground.

She woke up in a strange white room, hooked to monitors, an elderly man checking her chart. He had been kind to her when she first woke, explaining that his place of employment had picked her up from the corn field and had been monitoring her for three days.

Dr. Wheaton, he said was his name. Dr. Liam Wheaton. He made sure she ate all the food she was given and told her that her vitals had been off the charts fantastic.

She didn't have a name. If she did, she didn't know it. Dr. Wheaton gave her one. He christened her 'Rosalie', after his deceased and well-loved mother.

That was when Nick Fury came to her. He wanted to know who she was, what she was. After all, no normal human being left a hole in the ground that size or even fell from the sky at all.

Tests were run. It was determined she was not human, but what exactly, they didn't know. She possessed an amount of strength no human had, her reflexes were quicker than anything anyone had ever seen, she could take a hit from a moving car and remain unfazed, she moved faster than a cheetah and her senses were uncanny. The one ability she possessed that raised concern from everyone was the fact that with a conscious touch of her fingers, things were disintegrated. Not only that, but she could create things. Recreate something from its ashes or make something new entirely.

Within a week of determining her an asset and not a threat, she was suited. Agent Clint Barton gave her a swift rundown of how things worked at Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. She worked in the field under the tutelage of Barton and his close friend, Agent Natasha Romanoff.

The curiosity of her origin faded quickly as she adjusted to her new place in the world. She forgot that she had fallen from the sky. Her void of memory was filled with color as time went on.

And then the unimaginable happened.

Someone fell from the sky.

* * *

The hit landed, her fist slamming against Nat's face. Nat stumbled back and Rosalie landed a kick to her stomach.

"Now that's what I like to see!" She heard Clint shout from outside the sparring ring.

Rosalie glanced back at him, half a smile on her lips. The air around her changed and her hand went up just in time to grab Nat's wrist, flipping her on her back.

"You know I have enhanced senses and reflexes, or did you forget?" Rosalie turned, smiling down at Nat.

Clint's laughter filled the room. "I'm sure you didn't forget that our super-agent is some all-powerful alien from another planet." He said as Rosalie helped Nat to her feet.

Nat scowled at him and brushed off her training clothes. "Forget? No, I didn't forget. It just…slipped my mind."

Rosalie smiled. "Sure. Now that I've successfully kicked your ass four times today, can we get lunch? I'm starved."

Clint laughed again. "I have never met anyone with an appetite like yours, Wheaton. Burgers?"

Her stomach rumbled at the thought of a half-assed made, grease-filled cheeseburger. She glanced over at the large digital clock on the wall. It was just after 3:30 and she hadn't eaten since 7:30 that morning. "Burgers sound so good but so bad for my health. I'm in."

An hour later, the trio was sitting in Rosalie's favorite diner in D.C., ordering the greasiest cheeseburgers in the city.

"You're definitely Fury's favorite." Nat told Clint. Clint snorted in response, clearly disagreeing. "He treats you like a delicate flower. He can't have his pet bird getting hurt." There was no resentment or hurt in her voice. She was all play.

Clint shook his head, taking a drink of his water. "C'mon, Nat. We _all _know the man would actually die for Rosalie." Both of the women gave him a confused look. "Think about it, guys. Fury and Dr. Wheaton met at the Academy and Dr. Wheaton practically adopted Rose when she came to. Fury hardly lets her out of the city." He turned his attention to Rosalie. "Face the facts, my friend. You're like his kid or his pet project or something."

She rolled her eyes. "Did you ever think that maybe the reason he doesn't want me too far from reach is because I'm some sort of unknown species with an unknown amount of power that I'm not quite sure how to control?" She asked as they were served their food.

Clint's proud face fell and he turned his attention to his plate of food. Nat's laugh echoed softly as they began to eat.

Her mind wandered. There were several possibilities for her quarantine to the limits of Washington D.C. The most plausible one was that which she insisted upon Clint. But she wasn't ignorant of Fury's blatant favoritism. No one was.

She was a cherished addition in his collection of special and novelty items. She was sure that when someone better and more interesting came along, they would be favored over her. That was the cycle of life.

That wasn't to say that Director Fury didn't care for her. She knew he did. His close friendship with her surrogate father ensured that he looked at her as family, not just a friend from work. He was never less than professional with her, but there was an always present glimmer of kindness in his eyes.

"Earth to alien." Clint snapped in her face. She blinked several times, her focus adjusting on him. He was holding his S.H.I.E.L.D. pager, the screen blinking as it beeped incessantly. She realized that her own was going off and she took it from her pocket.

It was a summons from Director Fury. For her and Clint, but not Nat? "I'll drop you off on my way home." Nat told them.

They each left money for their meals and enough for a tip on the counter. "Barton?" Rosalie called his attention. "Call me 'alien' one more time and I'll burn your bows."

* * *

Fury was in his office waiting for them when they arrived. His desk was bare, except for a thin file folder.

"You're going to Puente Antiguo, New Mexico. We got word of an 0-8-4." Fury reported. He was looking directly at her and she could feel Clint looking anywhere else in the room.

0-8-4, an object of unknown origin. The last one they had gotten was in 2006.

They found her in a corn field in Kansas, strange markings burned into ground around her. Next to her body, a sword. A sword only she could pick up. The sword stayed contained in a secret vault in the locked basement of the Triskelion, safe and hidden.

She held out her hand and Fury handed her the file. She opened it up, letting Clint peer over.

She sucked in a breath.

The same strange markings. She picked up the photo, bringing it closer to her face. She switched to another photo, this one zoomed in. There was an object in the middle of the circle of markings. She couldn't quite make out what it was. And then the last photo.

It was a hammer. Not a regular hammer either. This one was a large and foreign looking war-hammer. Something inside of her bubbled, her brain buzzing.

"When do we leave?" She asked Fury, placing the photos back in the file. There was something special about the hammer, she knew it. She could _feel _it.

"Two hours. Contain and confiscate from the local authorities. Dr. Wheaton will be joining you to run tests on the 0-8-4, determine its origins, figure out if it's a potential threat. Any questions?" Fury reported. No one said anything. "Good. Wheaton, you're dismissed. Have a safe flight."

She said nothing as she left his office and the door closed behind her. Her ears prickled at the start of a secret conversation she wasn't supposed to hear.

"Sir, do you think this has anything to do with Wheaton? Who she is, what she is and where she's from?" She heard Clint asked.

Her heart hammered in her chest. It couldn't be a coincidence. She knew better than to think that. Markings like that didn't just appear. And the hammer…it sparked a sort of familiarity inside of her.

"The question isn't whether I think that it has anything to do with her, because it has e_verything _to do with her. The question is whether Rosalie Wheaton is ready to be faced with who she really is and whether we're ready for that too."

Her entire body prickled with curiosity. She wasn't sure she could wait to find everything out. Two hours plus flight time plus setting up and running tests and then waiting for results. Rosalie Wheaton couldn't contain herself.

* * *

_"__Thor! Loki! Wait for me!" The little princess shouted._

_The two princes were running ahead of her through the field. The blond boy was clearly the eldest, his hair thrown back by the breeze of the wind. He slowed to a stop and turned, his younger brother following his suit._

_"__Mother said that you had to let me play with you!" The girl told them, stopping from exasperation. _

_The black-haired boy looked at their elder brother curiously. "Thor, what do we do? She'll tell Mother if we run from her again."_

_Thor clasped his brother on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Loki." He smiled. He turned his attention to their younger sister. "Nola, Father said that you're to train and play separately from us now on! You're to train with Sif instead."_

_Her bright blue eyes glinted gold. "That's not true." She put her hands on her hips, her simple blue dress swaying in the breeze. "Father told me that I can train with the two of you. I'm just as good and almost as strong as you, Thor. I can't be Queen of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms if I'm not strong enough." Her voice was resilient and almost taunting. _

_Thor scoffed. "You're the youngest of us! You'll never be Queen and Protector, little sister." Loki laughed with him, the two boys making fun of her silly delusions. "Now go run back home and play with your dolls, Nola."_

_Anger bubbled inside of her, her small hands shaking. She thrusted her hands forward and flames shot across the grass towards the princes. It flew up in a wall in front of them and they scrambled back. As she calmed her breathing, the flames died down. _

_Her brother stared back at her, scared and confused. She was still young, a small child. Loki had only barely begun mastering his own magic and Thor's strength was beginning to go unmatched. Neither of them had come into their respective strengths at her age or had even begun to._

_The Asgardian princess swallowed, staring down her brothers. The golden glint in her eyes faded. "Don't tell Mother and Father." She warned them. Both princes nodded and she smiled brightly. "I will see you later for our first training!" She waved at them, turning and running back to the palace._

Rosalie awoke from the mysterious dream in a cold sweat. They were still a little bit away from New Mexico, flying over the country on a quinjet.

She wiped her forehead and grabbed a bottle of water, downing half of it quickly.

There had been something familiar, yet strange, about the dream. She felt connected to the two boys and the young girl but had no idea how. She could tell that it wasn't real just by the surroundings in the dream. The children were dressed casual but in strange clothing. The cosmic sky hovered over them, even though it was daytime. A beautiful golden palace lingered in the background.

She dismissed the feeling and the dream, shaking it off as a product of nerves and watching _The Princess Bride _and _Star Wars _a few too many times.

* * *

When they arrived at the makeshift facility, Coulson was ready to greet them at the door. "Good to see you two."

She liked Coulson. He was easy to talk to and was always ready to get straight to business. His weird obsession with Captain America was something she chose to look over, because it kind of freaked her out. But she guessed that her whole 'alien from another planet' thing freaked him out too.

"I need to see the hammer. Immediately." Rosalie told him. Coulson's eyebrows quirked, but he said nothing to her. He and Clint gave each other a look and she saw Clint shrug.

"This way." Coulson said. They followed him into the facility and through the halls until they reached the domed center.

Her entire body was buzzing just being in the same room as the hammer. Slowly, she made her way down the stairs and to the hammer.

It had made a nice sized crater in the ground. She gravitated towards it, the energy pulling her. Her hand shook as she reached for the hammer.

"Wheaton, don't touch it." Barton's voice came from behind her. "We don't know what it can do."

She shook her head. She was fine, the hammer was fine. It was powerful and so was she. Power understood other power. She understood the hammer. She _knew _the hammer.

Her fingers grazed the leather around the thick handle. Immediately, her hand wrapped around the handle. Her skin electrified, every part of her buzzed.

_"__My children, my legacies. It is time you came into your rightful inheritance. Nola, my daughter, come forth."_

_She felt her body move forward towards him._

_He had pulled them from their training, she felt disrespectful in her plain clothes, standing in front of the Allfather in training gear. _

_"__Kaos, formed on Nidavellir in the heart of a dying star. A sword fit for a princess and a weapon fit for the Goddess of Chaos and Creation. With this, you will do wonderful things." He put the longsword into her hands. "My son, Thor."_

_Her eldest brother stood beside her, taller and much larger. The same thick blond hair and striking blue eyes. _

_"__Mjolnir, also formed on Nidavellir in the same dying star." Odin the Allfather put the war hammer in his son's hands. "A hammer of war that I myself once wielded and I now pass down to you, my son. A weapon for the God of Thunder."_

_Thor grinned at their father. "Thank you, Father. I will make you proud by defeating many armies!"_

_She eyed the sword in her hands. She could feel the power surging through it. "These are your weapons in which you will defend Asgard and our people. Your power will flow through these weapons, but it does not come from these weapons. It comes from you. Remember that."_

_Her father put his hand on the top of her head. "It's beautiful, Father. I shall treasure it forever." She told him. She looked around the Allfather's secret vault. Her other brother was absent from their weapon reception. "Where is Loki, Father? Does he not get a weapon?"_

_Odin's hand patted her head gently and then rested on her shoulder. "Worry not about your brother. His gift is coming from your mother as we speak. They share the gift of magic. We share the gift of war."_

_Thor raised his hammer in the air, waving it. "I will win every battle in your name, Allfather! You will not be disappointed!"_

_She rolled her eyes, balancing the sword in her dominant hand. "Everything is not about war, my brother."_

_He scoffed at her. He thought she was an insolent girl, one who knew nothing of ruling or fighting. "Ruling is all about war, little sister! How do you think kings come to and keep their power?" He laughed._

_She looked to their father. "Tell him, Father."_

_Odin grabbed both of them by the shoulder. "You both have much to learn about ruling. And I will teach you."_

She jerked away from the hammer, her hand burning.

"Wheaton!" Barton shouted at her. "Everything okay down there?" He asked.

She shook out her hand, eyes clenched shut. The daydream was so vivid, so real. Almost as if it had really and truly happened to her. "I'm fine." She replied, her voice even. "Hungry, but I'm fine. Are there any good places to eat around here, Coulson?"

* * *

Coulson's idea of a good place to eat was a tiny diner that didn't even have a proper sign, just a little neon piece on the side window. "So, did the locals have a time with the hammer?" Clint asked Coulson.

Rosalie bit a huge chunk from her burger. "Oh yeah. By the time I got here, they'd set up camp. They were lined up practically out the city to try and pull it out of the crater." Coulson laughed.

She swallowed, looking at him. "No one could get it out?" She asked. He shook his head, saying no. He told them that some poor guy broke the back end of his truck off trying to get it out.

"It's in the ground pretty good." Coulson chuckled.

She didn't think that was it at all.

The woman behind the counter was trying to piece together a broken coffee cup.

"We confiscated material from the lab of Jane Foster. We're hoping some of it may bring a light to whatever we're dealing with."

Rosalie arched an eyebrow. "Did you at least compensate her for her troubles? We don't need another Banner situation. Everyone already thinks we killed him off."

Coulson assured her that Ms. Foster was financially compensated for more than enough of her materials. She finished her burger and chugged the water down.

"Right. Back to the facility. I need sleep." She rubbed her hands together.

Clint rolled his eyes. "You have three moods: eat, sleep, and fight. Can't you ever relax for once?"

"Is that one of my moods?" She asked dully. He said no. "Then, no."

* * *

The scientists were working around the clock to test the hammer. S.H.I.E.L.D. had built a formidable facility around the hammer site, ensuring no one's prying eyes could see what they were doing.

"Well, what do you think?" She chewed on her thumbnail.

Dr. Wheaton looked up from his clipboard. He pulled her a few feet away from the rest of the scientists. "Just from mere observation and comparing full photographs of this site, your own, and that of your sword, I can see that the markings are the same. Having tested what I could, I've determined that the hammer is made of a substance uncannily similar to that of your sword."

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "You're saying…?"

He nodded. "Yes. Wherever the origin is, it is the same as yours."

Something like hope fluttered in her chest. It was the first time in four years that she had even an inkling of a lead on where she came from.

"Did you tell Fury?"

"Not yet. I will in the morning."

Her ear com crackled. "Movement outside the west border fence." One of the guards reported.

She and Dr. Wheaton looked at each other for a long moment. "Call it a night?" She suggested. Most of her knew it was probably kids from the town trying to get a good look at what they thought was a satellite. But there was a small part in the back of her mind that thought it could be something a little more dangerous.

"Sounds like a lovely idea. Shall we get breakfast in the morning? Agent Coulson had great things to say about that diner you went to earlier." There was a slight suggestiveness in his tone that she recognized immediately.

"Breakfast sounds great." She said. "And Clint went with us." She added before he could get any more ideas. "See you in the morning."

He waved back at her with his clipboard. Along with him, the other scientists and agents dispersed, leaving her alone with the hammer. She watched him walk up the small set of stairs and disappear down one of the white tunneled halls.

"Agent down! Agent down!" Another voice shouted through. "We've got an intruder!" Sirens blared throughout the facility. Up above, thunder cracked. Before she knew it, a hard and steady rain was falling down.

She cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck. She took out both her guns and made sure they were fully loaded and ready to use.

"I need eyes up top." Coulson's voice rang through. "With a weapon, preferably." He added.

"On it." She heard Clint say.

"Agent Wheaton has the hammer in sight. Take the intruder down." Agent Sitwell's voice came through the com.

She could hear Sitwell and Coulson talking about some kind of electromagnetic surge and she had half a mind to turn her com off. The whirring of a machine distracted her. She looked up, drops of rain falling in her eyes.

Clint was in the bucket of the crane machine, hanging over the squared off hammer site. She watched him ready his bow and notch an arrow. She gave him a thumbs up before setting her sights back on the hammer.

"Barton, Wheaton, give me an update." Coulson demanded. Barton said he had eyes on the intruder and on command would slow him down. He asked if Coulson was going to send more agents for the intruder to spar with. She reported that, naturally, she wasn't seeing any action, but the hammer was still in sight and protected. "Keep me updated." Coulson told them.

She heard him before she saw him. Thundering footsteps, heavy breathing. "Wait." She said softly. She ducked into the shadows, peering out. He stepped into her line of vision. He was tall, bulky and muscular with blonde hair down to his shoulders. Familiarity prickled in the back of her mind. "I have eyes on him."

She took out one of her guns. An agent popped out in front of him, bigger than the intruder. He knocked the intruder down and the two wrestled, tearing through the tunnel out into the rain.

She heaved a sigh. "I never get to have any fun." She muttered, putting her gun back away.

"Patience, young grasshopper." Clint chuckled. His amusement ended with a sharp intake of breath. "Coulson, if you don't call it soon, I might have to switch to rooting for him."

The tarp of the enclosure ripped away just near the hammer and she fell back into the shadow. Maybe her time to shine had come after all. He made his way to the hammer, grinning down at it. Surely this guy didn't think he'd be the one to free the weapon. Dozens had tried before him and failed. Even she had tried and her superhuman strength hadn't been able to free the hammer. What made him any different?

"Coulson." Barton said impatiently. "Running out of time."

Coulson told him to wait. "I want to see what happens. Wheaton, you still there?"

"Mhm." She murmured. "Biding my time."

The man curled his hand around the grip of the hammer, a satisfied expression on his face. She inhaled as he pulled up. The hammer didn't move. She exhaled, almost disappointed. He put his other hand around the hilt and pulled again. Still, the hammer didn't budge. He groaned out, still trying to move the hammer. When he finally let go, there was a look of defeat on his face. She almost felt bad for him. Almost, though.

He stepped back, staring down at his hands. He looked up at the sky, shouting wordlessly. He sank to his knees, his eyes locked on the hammer.

"Bring him in, Wheaton." Coulson ordered her.

She stepped out of the shadows, her gun out and ready to use. Her foot squished into the mushy wetness of the ground and the man's head jerked up. "Don't move." She commanded. "Move and I shoot."

He squinted back at her. "It cannot be…" He said quietly. She picked up on his accent, noting that it sounded oddly like her own.

"We're going to detain you now. Don't resist or you'll make it a lot worse for yourself." She told him. She held up a hand, summoning agents to come get the intruder.

An agent appeared and got behind the intruder, handcuffing him. He pulled him to his feet, but the man's gaze never left her. "You're meant to be dead." He told her.

Her mouth felt dry. She wanted to look away, but she didn't. "Wheaton, do not engage." Coulson's voice rang out.

But she couldn't stop thinking about how Dr. Wheaton had proven that the origin of her sword and the hammer were the same. He had said that wherever she was from, the hammer came from there as well. And this man seemed to know her, but she had never seen him before in her life.

"You know me?" She asked, lowering her gun. That was one of the very first things she was taught: never lower your gun.

His eyes widened. "How could I not? I have known you your whole life."

He _did _know her! But from where? And how? She didn't get to ask. Coulson ordered the agent to detain the intruder. She huffed a breath as the agent began walking the intruder away. He turned back, looking at her curiously.

"Get Fury on the phone." She demanded. Before Coulson could object, she repeated herself. "And get Dr. Wheaton on the line as well. We all need to have a little chat."

* * *

She paced back and forth, chewing down on her thumbnail. Coulson had given her a little space away from other agents. Fury and Liam were both on the line. Liam was explaining to Fury that with all the testing he had conducted, he came to the conclusion that she, the sword, and the hammer all came from the same place, wherever that was.

"Add that with the fact that the intruder seems to actually know who I am, and we've got a solid lead." She told Fury. "You've got to let me talk with him. He _knows _something." There was a begging tone to her voice that she didn't really like, but it seemed necessary in getting what she wanted.

"Wheaton, the guy managed to get through half the agents we had on site." Fury told her. "What makes you think you can handle him?"

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You're kidding, right?" She breathed. "Are you forgetting the whole alien-superhuman thing I've got going on?"

She heard both Fury and Liam chuckle through the phone. "I'll permit it." Fury finally told her. "So long as Coulson is standing watch nearby in case things get out of hand."

Her heart surged. "Thank you. I'll call with an update after." She pressed the button, ending the call. She left the small makeshift room, a pleased smile on her face.

Coulson and Barton were waiting for her outside of the tarped cell they had put the intruder in. Both men looked stern and formidable, arms crossed over their chests and grim faces. "Let me guess." Clint said as she approached. "Fury gave you the go-ahead."

"Mhmm." She replied with a close-lipped smile. "But Coulson has to babysit me in case I need help." It earned a snicker from Clint. "Let's go." She clapped Coulson on the shoulder.

The two men shared a look as she waltzed into the holding room. The intruder was sitting in a chair, nothing else in the room. Coulson stood by the door, but she made her way over, standing in front of the man.

"Hey." She said. "We need to have a talk."

He looked up at her slowly. His eyes were the same blue as hers. "Are these Midgardians holding you captive as well?" Before she could answer, he was shaking his head with a smile. "No. No mortals could hold you. You must be leading them. Tell them to release me immediately."

She arched an eyebrow, glancing over at Coulson. He shrugged and she turned her attention back to the intruder. "You're in no position to be making demands, bud. And, for the record, I'm the one asking all the questions."

"You do not know who I am." He sighed.

"But you know who I am." She said. He nodded. "Well, then. Who am I?" He asked who she thought she was. "Rosalie Wheaton, that's the name I've been going by for the past four years. Ever since I woke up in the middle of a corn field in Kansas. I don't remember anything before that."

"No, you wouldn't." He said it as if he knew exactly why she didn't remember. "The magic of the Dark Elves is strange, but that of Malekith's is stranger still."

She tried not to draw conclusions that he was delusional. After all, she lived in a world where people and weapons fell from the sky and she had superhuman abilities. But he was talking about elves and magic. Maybe he'd had one too many drinks while playing Dungeons and Dragons or watching Lord of the Rings.

"You lost me at magic. I have no clue what you're talking about."

He stared back at her, his eyes narrowed in deep thought. "He made you forget everything entirely and then banished you to another realm." He murmured. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Four years isn't right at all. It has been at least a hundred or two, maybe even three." _Three hundred years? _There was no way. "Malekith, a sorcerer and leader of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, came to Asgard the night you die-disappeared. He was searching for a relic that is no longer in our possession, but he did not know that. You were the one to find him once the guards had set off the alarms. It was so very like you, charging right into a battle with no thought about it. You chased him out of the palace, and we cornered him on the Bifrost Bridge. He shot some sort of spell or something at you and demanded the relic or he would kill you. You said that you would rather die than hand anything over to him and he-and he threw you off the Bridge." His face was drawn together in sorrow, his eyes no longer as bright as they had been. "We all thought you dead. No one comes back from that. Mother did not leave her chamber for weeks. She tried to hide it, but we knew that she wept for you. I wanted to invade Svartalfheim and destroy the entire realm in your honor, but Father would not allow it. The whole realm mourned your death."

Her head was spinning. Mother? Father? She closed her eyes, trying to connect it all in her head. She still didn't know how she was supposed to know this guy, but he seemed to know her very well.

"This is fantastic news!" He said suddenly. Her eyes flew open. Coulson had his gun out, aimed at the man. She held up her hand to him, signaling for him to hold off on firing. "Mother and Father will be overjoyed to learn that you are alive! Oh, and Loki as well! In fact, everyone will be! When we get back to Asgard, I am sure that Father will hold a celebration in honor of your return home. You used to love your birthday celebrations, especially your tenth one. That was when Father gave you your sword, and me my hammer." His face grew serious as he looked back at her. "You still have the sword, don't you?"

"Yes." She said without thinking. "Of course."

He nodded, seemingly pleased with her answer. "Good. _Kaos _is a fierce weapon, made just for you." She hadn't even known the blade had a name. "It is a sword fit for a dangerous warrior, forged in the heart of a dying star, made to hone the power of chaos."

Now, she was sure he was just throwing nonsense at her. Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe he didn't know anything, and he was just making things up to buy himself time. "Who am I?" She repeated her earlier question. If it was another crackpot answer, she was going to tell Coulson to send him to the Cube.

The man smiled back at her. Nothing about the smile seemed malicious or ill-willed. There was something about it that reminded her of Liam's smile whenever she managed to properly harness her power. Pride, that was what it was. There was pride in his smile. "You are my little sister." He told her. "Nola Odinsdottir, Princess of Asgard, Goddess of Chaos and Destruction." He said it all so nonchalantly.

"Who?" She and Coulson said simultaneously. The man grinned back at her. "I need a minute." She mumbled. She shoved past Coulson, leaving the holding room.


	2. Chapter 2

_Princess Nola of Asgard, daughter to Odin and Frigga, the Goddess of Chaos and Destruction. The Goddess, despite her formidable title, does not willfully cause fear. She does nothing out of ill-will and only creates chaos and destruction when necessary. Though the youngest of Odin's children, she has great power. At the slight of her hand can the princess raze an entire village, leaving nothing behind but dust and flames. Yet what many forget about the Goddess' power is that creation is one and the same with chaos and destruction. From the dust, she can create new again. From nothing, she can bring something. Where her brother Thor wields the mighty Mjolnir and her brother Loki specializes in magic, Nola herself carries the glorious sword _Kaos_, a weapon only she herself can use, much like Thor with Mjolnir. _

She slammed the book shut. Someone in the room shushed her. She slid the book back on the shelf.

There was no way. Absolutely no way that the man wasn't crazy. He had to have lost his mind. She wasn't a princess and she sure as hell wasn't a goddess. Though, even debunking the idea in her head, it unsettled her. She had a sword, one that looked eerily similar to the one drawn in the library book on Norse mythology. She had no memory of anything before four years ago. Her DNA didn't read as human. She had abilities that no one else had.

Pushing the thoughts out of her head, she left the library. She made her way back to the makeshift facility and went straight to the holding room. Which was empty.

She stopped a nearby agent, grabbing him by the elbow of his jacket. "Where is the prisoner?" She asked through gritted teeth.

Surely…surely he hadn't escaped?

"Agent Coulson let him go. Just a few minutes ago."

She let the agent go, telling him to go on about his work. Biting down on the inside of her cheek, she found her way to Coulson's little office. She yanked the tarp shut, staring down at him. "You let him go? Coulson, are you an idiot? He broke into our facility, took out some of our best men, and you let him go?"

He had an amused expression on his face. "Your lack of faith in me is wounding, Wheaton. Yes, I let him go. But I have Agents Garrett and Cale following him."

She blinked. The redness left her face, but her hands were still balled into fists at her sides. "Garrett and Cale? Are you serious? They don't have half a brain between them."

Coulson smiled timidly. "If you want to go after him, I can't stop you. I won't stop you, even."

It took her a moment to realize what he had done. She flexed out her hands, trying to calm down. "I'll keep you updated. Send me Cale's contact information. And then, bring those two dumbasses back here."

* * *

For nighttime, it was unreasonably warm out. Maybe it was a New Mexico thing. The flex material of her suit was made to be breathable, but even in the stifling heat of the night, it became uncomfortable.

She could see Garrett and Cale sitting in an inconspicuous van across from the dive bar. Rolling her eyes, she walked over to the van. She knocked her hand against the wind and motioned for Cale to roll down the window.

"Agent Wheaton. Hi." He smiled uneasily.

She rested her arms against the door, leaning towards him with a smile on her face. "Garrett. Cale. You can go. I've got it from here."

The two men looked between each other. Cale looked back at her. "Agent Coulson-."

"Sent me." She cut him off. Her eyes flashed. "Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either you can leave now, or you can get out of this van, I'll kick your asses, and then you leave. It's up to you." She told them. She pushed off the van door, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's it going to be, fellas?"

Cale cut his eyes. "You know, Wheaton, one day someone is going to say no to you, and you won't know what to do."

She smiled as he started the van. "Well, that'll be the day the world ends so I guess I won't have to worry about it." She knocked her hand against the side door as he drove off. She took her phone out, texting Coulson and telling him to beware two very pissed off agents. She didn't bother waiting for his reply before entering the small bar.

She looked around the room, squinting until her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. She saw him sitting in a booth in the back, someone sitting across from him. She walked to the booth and sat down next to him.

"Who-?" The older man on the other side began to question.

"You're here!" The man next to her grinned. He offered her his mug of beer. She shook her head declining. "But you love ale. It's your favorite drink."

_Ale. _Not beer, ale.

The man across the booth was staring at the S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia on the breast of her suit. "You work for S.H.I.E.L.D.?" He asked. "Of course. I should have known they would never let him go."

"Dr. Selvig, I know that we never gave you good reason to trust us, but I'm not hear on behalf of my employer. I'm here for me." She told him. Her eyes slid over, watching the man- Thor, that was his name, she remembered- down his beer. "How'd you spring him, anyway? We don't just let people go, especially when they can take out some of our most skilled agents."

"Our intern. She's quite skilled herself. In hacking." Dr. Selvig told her.

She nodded thoughtfully. She knew that little ruse hadn't gotten past the system, or Coulson for that matter. If it had, he wouldn't have sent Garrett and Cale to trail them. "So, what plan do you have? What are you going to do with our friend here?" She glanced at Thor.

"He leaves town. Tonight." She said there was no way that was happening. "If you aren't here for S.H.I.E.L.D., then what exactly do you want with him?" Selvig asked her. He didn't believe her, she realized. He thought she was lying.

Thor put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Selvig watched with wide eyes as Thor ruffled the hair on top of her head. "She's my sister! Don't we look alike?" Thor grinned.

Dr. Selvig looked between the two of them. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

Rosalie pushed him away and straightened her hair back. "He has answers to questions I've been asking for several years. I don't know if they're the right answers, but they're a start. It's all I have." Selvig said that didn't matter to him. Thor needed to go. He was putting Jane in danger by sticking around. "Jane Foster?" Selvig nodded and said she was like a daughter to him. "I'll make you a deal. Until I have clearance to go back to D.C., our friend here stays with you. When I go back, I'll take him with me. He can crash in my apartment until…." She didn't have a definite end to the arrangement. "If he causes you any trouble until then, I'll handle it."

Reluctantly, Selvig agreed. Thor ordered them another round of drinks, insisting that she stay and have at least one drink with them. Against better judgement, she complied. The bartender came, bringing three more mugs of beer and putting them on the table.

She took a long sip of her beer, the dull liquid settling in her stomach. "So," she looked at Thor, "you said I have a family. A mother and a father?"

He nodded excitedly. "Yes." He took a drink of his beer before saying anymore. "You are the last child of the three of us. Me, Loki, and then you. You were always Father's favorite. Mother loved you as well, since you let her put you in all those dresses."

She was the youngest of three children? For not knowing anything about her family, she didn't expect to have siblings. Especially not two older brothers. "Is that how I learned to fight? From you and…Loki?"

Thor shook his head. "No. You trained, just like the two of us. Sometimes, you trained with us. You were very good in combat. Father said you would be one of the greatest warriors Asgard had ever seen."

She took a shaky breath and finished the beer. She looked over at Dr. Selvig. "Do you believe him? Any of what he says? Or do you think he's delusional?"

Selvig shrugged. "I don't think it matters what I believe. I think it only matters what you believe. Isn't that why you're here?"

* * *

She tossed and turned the whole night. She didn't want to believe that she was…whoever this Thor guy said she was. Norse gods didn't exist. It was called a mythology for a reason. He was a crackpot dude who had no clue what he was talking about. That had to be it.

But deep down, she didn't fully believe that. No matter how much she resented and dejected the idea, it made sense. She could counter all her life that Norse gods were just myths, that they weren't real. That was what proper reason told her. But reason also said that she should have been human, that people didn't fall out of the sky. That Bruce Banner shouldn't have survived that much gamma radiation. That Captain America never should have existed, especially in the 40's. And yet, it all had happened. It was all real. Why too could the old gods of Norse not be real?

"Morning." Clint greeted her. He tossed her a muffin and she caught it. Blueberry, she smelled. Her favorite. "Ran into Garrett this morning. Something put the fear of God in him. Dude is completely spooked."

She smiled to herself, taking a bite of the muffin. "That was probably me." She said after swallowing. "I threatened to kick his ass last night. And Cale's. Mostly Cale's really."

Clint raised his eyebrows, asking what they ever did to her. She explained the previous night, from getting what seemed like Coulson's okay to go out, running into the two resident dumbass agents, and then the bar with Dr. Selvig and Thor. "Clint, I really think…I mean, it's crazy, isn't it? The idea that somewhere out in the world, the old Norse gods are just…alive."

He shrugged, taking a bite of his own muffin. "Depends. Do you believe what that guy says? Do you feel like he's telling the truth, about who you are?"

"I don't know. I think so. But then again, couldn't it just be the blind hope of finding out who I am? Maybe I want to know so bad that I'm willing to believe some crazy dude who just so happened to also fall out of the sky."

Clint chuckled. She asked what was funny. "A couple things. First, you're trying to deny something you know is right. Dr. Wheaton is one of our best scientists. If he says everything adds up, then he isn't wrong. Second, you know who you are, deep down. You could be this Norse goddess, but you're still Rosalie Wheaton, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. That's never going to change, no matter who you were before."

"So, you believe it? You think that's who I was, before I came here?"

He stopped walking and turned to look at her. He discarded the muffin wrapper to a trash can. "All I'm saying is that it adds up. You went four years without a trace and then all of a sudden, a dude falls from the sky, creating the same markings you did, might I add, and you're given everything you've been looking for. A name, a history, a reason for why you have powers. Don't turn your back on it just because it sounds like something from a children's story. We both know that anything is possible. Especially now." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder before walking away. She stared down at the muffin in her hand. "Come on, Wheaton. We've got work to do." He called back to her.

Finishing the muffin, she jogged after him.

* * *

Coulson, for all it was worth, was a better agent than a friend. Most of the time. But when it came down to it, when she really needed it, he was a better friend.

She stared down at the text, fighting off a smile.

**Garrett and Cale are keeping an eye on Smith Motors. Go check it out. – Coulson**

When she got back to D.C., she was going to have a word with Fury about Garrett and Cale. They needed supervision. She wasn't sure how they still had jobs, as many cases as they had fumbled.

She pulled on her brown leather jacket and left the facility. As late in the morning as it was, the little town wasn't very busy. The diner they had eaten ate just the day before was barely occupied by patrons, only a handful of tables being used.

Smith Motors wasn't very far from the diner at all. She looked around, wandering where those two idiots were holed up. Her ears prickled, picking up the quiet static of an ear-com. She lifted her head, looking up at the rooftops.

Across from Smith Motors, there was a hardware store. On the roof of the hardware store, she saw the two people she was looking for.

Inside the hardware store, she kindly showed the owner her S.H.I.E.L.D. badge and said she needed to speak with her associates on the rooftop. The owner took her to the set of stairs that led to the roof of the building. She muttered a thank you and ascending the set of concrete stairs.

Garrett and Cale were standing near the ledge of the roof. Cale was looking down, a pair of binoculars pressed to his face. "Coulson wants an update." She heard Garrett tell him. "What are they doing?"

Cale was silent for a second. "Eating eggs, looks like." Garrett asked if they were scrambled or fried. Cale turned, shooting him a glare. His eyes shifted and found her. She was standing by the door that led back down to the store, an amused expression on her face. "Are you kidding?" He groaned.

She wiggled her fingers, waving at him. "Morning, boys."

"Hi, Agent Wheaton." Garrett gave her a friendly smile. She smiled back painfully hard. She wondered how many braincells he had left.

"We aren't going anywhere." Cale told her. "We got here first." She said that she supposed they were doing things the hard way then. "No, we aren't doing anything any kind of way. Coulson sent _us _to watch the prisoner."

She arched an eyebrow. "Do you really want to fight me on this, Cale? I mean, if you really want prisoner detail, go for it. But keep in mind that if he finds out you're watching him, and he comes after you…" She made a motion with her finger, sliding it across the front of her throat. "Just something to think about."

Garrett looked between them. "Maybe we should let her take over. She is like an alien or whatever."

She _hated _that word. For the sake of her sanity, she let it slide. The corner of Cale's lip twitched. She nodded her head towards the door.

"Fine. But I'm keeping the binoculars." He grumbled.

"If you insist." It wasn't like she needed them anyway.

It only took a few minutes for the two of them to leave back down to the hardware store. No doubt, Cale would throw a bitch fit to Sitwell when they returned. And in turn, Sitwell would bitch out Coulson. Coulson would then pretend to bitch her out, just for the appearance of things.

She stared down at Smith Motors, thankful for how extremely lucky they had gotten that Dr. Foster and her associates were camping out in an abandoned car dealership. The walls were made of glass.

Dr. Foster handed Thor a coffee mug and he got up from the table they were all sitting at. He walked out of the building. She watched him walk down to the diner. The owner, a woman named Isabella, was out on the sidewalk sweeping. He handed her the mug and they exchanged a brief conversation. He left the woman, both of them smiling.

"Wheaton, you there?" Coulson's voice sounded a little static through her ear-com.

She sighed, stepping back from the ledge. "Yeah. Does Sitwell want me to come in for a proper sit-down scolding?" She really didn't have the patience for that yet, especially so early in the day.

"You need to come back in. Now." He told her.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. The skin over her arms raised with goosebumps. Something wasn't right. "Tell Sitwell he can kiss my as-."

"Wheaton. This isn't about Sitwell. We have a problem." She asked if it was the hammer and he said no. She then asked what the hell was so big a deal that she had to return to the facility. "One of the satellites picked up a massive energy burst about fifteen miles northwest of us. We're going to check it out."

"I can stay behind. Keep an eye on our friend." She suggested.

"No. You're coming with us. Fury's orders."

She locked her jaw. He was getting smarter. Going straight to Fury before even talking to her. He was learning. Good for him.

"I'll be there in a few."

Her eyes traveled over the top of the town. Everything looked normal. People were starting to fill the streets. Cars were driving down the roads, people were walking, kids were playing. She felt the corner of her mouth lift into a smile.

And then she saw them.

Four people walking down the street. Three men and a woman. They were wearing odd clothes. Capes, thickly made boots, armor. Weapons. An image flashed in her mind of herself wearing something oddly similar, her sword in her hand.

"Wait." She said before Coulson could sign off. "We've got company." He asked what kind. Before she could answer, the four people were looking up. Straight at her. "Shit. I've been made."

"Wheaton, do not engage. Do not!"

She turned to go back to the door. She had a gun in the waistband of her jeans but didn't know how much use it would be if the four strangers were from where she thought they were. She crept through the hardware store. She looked out the window to make sure the coast was clear before leaving the store.

"It is her!" A delighted voice shouted.

_Damn it, _she thought, _so close_.

She put her hand on the waist of her jeans and turned around. The blond man began running towards her and she pulled out her gun. "Stop." She ordered.

The woman stepped forward and grabbed the man, jerking him back. "Your Grace, our sincerest apologies. Fandral knows that is no way to greet a princess." The woman shot him a withering look.

Rose took a step back. "Oh, my god." She breathed. There was a really big difference in one guy telling you that you were some kind of lost princess from another world and then four other people showing up and saying the same thing.

"Wheaton, where are you? Wheaton?" Coulson's voice continued to ring out in her ear.

She swallowed, looking back at the group of people. "This is not possible. It can't be…"

"Wheaton? Rosalie, for God sakes!" Coulson shouted.

She pressed a finger to her com. "I'm here." She whispered. "And uh, I think I might actually be this lost princess chick after all."

She heard him sigh. "Are you okay?"

"I think so. I'll let you know." She looked back at the people. They were staring at her expectantly. "Let me guess: you think I'm Nola too, don't you? Are you friends with Thor?"

They all looked at each other. The blond man- Fandral- released himself from the woman's hold and took a small step toward her. "Princess, do you not remember us? I am Fandral. This is Volstagg," he gestured to the large red-headed man, "and Hogun." He pointed to the smaller dark-haired man. "And Lady Sif." He nodded to the woman. "We are the Warriors Three, along with Lady Sif. Don't you remember?"

She felt like her head was going to explode. "Wait. You've seen Thor?" Lady Sif stepped in front of Fandral. "Where is he? Is he all right?" She said he was fine. Lady Sif looked at the gun and then back to Rose's face. "Princess, where is your sword? Why do you rifle with silly mortal weapons?"

"It's…That doesn't matter. You're here for Thor?" Lady Sif said yes. She then began explaining their reasoning for traveling to Midgard. King Odin had fallen into the Odinsleep shortly after banishing Thor and Loki ruled in his stead. Thinking things off, the Warriors Three and herself gained passage through the Bifrost after Heimdall secretly allowed them to pass through. They were there to bring Thor back to Asgard and now, her as well. "No. No. I'm not going anywhere. I live here."

The four of them looked around, unsure expressions on their faces as they took in the town. "Here?" Volstagg muttered. "It is…nice, I suppose."

She fought back a smile. "Not here, specifically. But on Midgard. This is my home."

"Your Grace, I mean no offense, but your home is back on Asgard. Now more than ever, our realm needs you." Hogun told her.

By all standards of any sort of fantasy shows or movies she had indulged in, third-born children, especially when a princess, did not get much say in how the realm was ruled. They didn't even get to sit on the throne.

"I'll take you to Thor. And then, you take him home." She finally said. The tone of her voice warranted no argument to her words. What she said was final law.

"Yes, Your Grace." They all bowed.

She put her gun back up. The four of them followed her, she took them to the Smith Motors building. She opened the door, letting them inside. She followed them in.

Thor was standing at the sink, drying a set of plates. Dr. Selvig and a girl that she assumed was their intern were sitting at the table. Dr. Foster dropped the plate she was holding in her hands. It shattered on impact.

Thor turned. His face spread into a wide grin. "Sister! Friends!" He carefully put the plates up and ran across the room, hugging each of his friends.

"Dr. Foster." Rose walked over, extending her hand. "Agent Rosalie Wheaton. I believe you've met my associate, Agent Coulson."

She nodded, shaking Rose's hand. "He confiscated my stuff. All of it." She knelt down, beginning to pick up the pieces of the broken plate.

"Let me." Rosalie said in a quiet voice. She focused, straining her eyes to stare down at the pieces of the plate on the floor. The pieces rattled against the concrete floor and then lifted, piecing back together perfectly to reform the plate. She grabbed it, inspecting it. It looked brand new, as if it had never been broken. "Here." She handed the plate back to Jane. "And as for your things, I'll see to it that all of it is returned to you, as well as the financial compensation you were promised."

"How did…How did you do that?" Jane whispered.

"Jane, this is my sister." Thor crossed the room, giving Rose a tight side-hug. Jane looked at them, brow furrowed. "She was banished to Midgard, but now we've found her!"

Rose stepped away, straightening her jacket.

"And uh, who are they?" The intern asked, pointing at the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.

Volstagg stepped forward, a proud look on his face. "We, my lady, are Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Have you not heard of us? Volstagg the Svelte, Fandral the Dashing, and Hogun the Grim?" Dr. Selvig was staring a Volsagg's protruding gut area. Bashfully, the red-haired warrior rubbed his stomach. "Maybe I have been drinking too much ale. I have grown a little 'round the middle since we were last here."

Jane frowned. "Over a thousand years ago." She stated. "In Europe?"

Volstagg grinned and said that was correct. "They were nice people and they had good taste in fish. They did love us so!" Fandral and Hogun agreed with him excitedly.

"My friends, I cannot tell you how pleased I am to see you, but you should not be here. You must go back home." Thor told them.

"They came to take you back." Rose told him. "You're all leaving." She saw Jane's face fall at the idea of Thor leaving. Did she…like him?

Thor shook his head, saying he could never go back to Asgard. The Allfather, Odin, was dead because of him and the conditions of peace with Jotunheim stated he had to remain in exile.

The warriors and Sif looked between each other, all exchanging confused looks. "Thor, your father lives still. He is only in the Odinsleep. Who told you that he had died?"

Thunder rumbled outside. Something inside of her tightened as her skin prickled. "Were you guys bringing more friends?" The intern asked.

"It is the Bifrost." Thor murmured.

Rose stiffened. The familiar feeling fell over her, unsettling but almost calming. "Something is coming." She said. "I can-."

"Feel it. You feel it inside of you." Thor told her. "Chaos recognizes chaos." There was a warm look in his eyes.

She nodded, saying that was exactly it. Every time something bad was about to happen, she had been able to feel it. She had always credited the feeling to her gut, but now she knew what it had been all along.

A funnel exploded from the sky, dark and hazy. It reached down to the ground, swirling dust all around.

"Wheaton, can you hear me?" Coulson's voice cut in and out. "Agent Wheaton, do you copy?"

She pressed down on the ear-com. "I copy. What's going on?"

"We're at the sight of the tornado. There's...There's something here. And I don't think it's one of Stark's machines." Something boomed in her ear. All she heard was static.

Uneasiness welled up inside of her. She looked over at Thor. "Something is here. My friends are in trouble." She told him.

The citizens of the town were beginning to run into the streets, attracted by the storm in the sky. In the distance, she could see the blazes of fire. All of them walked out of the building and stood in the street, watching in the distance for whatever was to come. Volstagg said something about a fight. Thor looked at Jane and told her that she, her intern- whose name was Darcy-, and Selvig all needed to get out of town as fast as they could. Jane asked what he was going to do. He told her that he had to stay and fight. No matter what, he was still a warrior.

"Thor, if you try to fight, you will get yourself killed." Volstagg told him. "You are only a mortal now." Fandral agreed and said that one of them could die trying to protect him, which was their sworn duty.

"You must go with the mortals and leave the fighting to us." Sif told him. "That is the safest option. For everyone."

Surprising everyone, Thor said that she was right. He turned to Jane, Selvig, and Darcy. "We must get everyone out of the streets. No one here will die today."

Her eyes flitted around. Every time there was a fight, she had been the one to have to stay behind, be the eyes and the ears while everyone else worked as the hands and the rest of the body. Watch and listen, but never fight. Now, it all fell in front of her. There was no one to tell her no or hold her back. She had the choice and she had to choose the right option.

"I'm not." She said quietly.

Each of the Asgardians looked at her, only their hearing keen enough to pick up on the fact that she had finally spoken. "What did you say, sister?" Thor asked her.

She took a shaky breath. What she was about to do was Nick Fury's bold-faced and textbook definition of stupid. "You may be mortal now, but I'm not."

Thor grinned back at her. "You'll fight?"

"I'll win."

Fandral laughed, saying that was the raw confidence of the princess they had missed. "But, Your Grace, this simple Midgardian weapon will be no match for what seeks us out. You will need something far sturdier." He took his sword from the sheath on his hip. "Here, I offer you my sword."

There was a familiar look in his eyes. One that told her they had been in this position before. He gazed back at her and she understood what it was. Hope.

"Thank you, but I'll have to decline." She answered. "I don't need your sword. I have my own."

She closed her eyes, bringing to mind the image in the children's book she had skimmed through in the library. A fierce and powerful princess, clothed in armor. Her arm extended and holding a longsword made of brilliant white gold. She focused all of her thoughts on the sword, holding her own hand out.

She could feel it in her bones. A tingling sensation that brought her an odd sense of comfort. Her fingers twitched, aching for something they couldn't yet feel. It only took a few silent minutes before the feeling grew so strong that she felt her knees grow weak.

Smooth leather smacked into the palm of her hand and her fingers curled around it. She opened her eyes.

She no longer wore the clothes she had been in. Her leather jacket and jeans had transformed into a dark red and grey body suit, silver-made armor, and a dark grey cape. "Holy shit." She murmured.

Everything came flooding back, exploding into her brain. It seemed like a whole other life that had been shoved in the back of her mind and was being shoved right back to the front.

"Sister?"

She looked at Thor and for the first time, she saw who he was. She saw her brother. He was staring at her expectantly, everyone else watching them. "I remember."


	3. Chapter 3

She slid the longsword into the sheath on her back. Jane, Selvig, and Darcy were all staring, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "Get everyone out of town." She told Thor. "I'll take care of this."

"Your Grace, are you sure that you're up for this?" Hogun asked. "You've only just gotten your memory back."

"Aren't I the goddess of destruction?" He said nothing else. In fact, her comment put a stop to any and all worries of her abilities. She took a few steps, walking away from them. Pressing a finger to her ear, she adjusted the ear-com. "Hey, Coulson, you still kicking?" She crossed her fingers, hoping for a reply.

Static crinkled in her ear and she winced. "We're still here." His voice finally came through. "Do you have eyes on the thing?" He asked her.

A massive shadow fell over the street. She turned her head to look back. There was a ginormous metal suit walking slowly towards them. From inside it, she could see a faint reddish-orange glow. She understood why Coulson had been quick to assume it was one of Stark's toys. "Oh, yeah. I most definitely have eyes on it." She muttered.

"Is there any chance of you actually listening if I tell you not to engage?" He was tired, she could hear it. For his sake, she wanted to say yes. She asked him if he knew where Barton and Dr. Wheaton were. "They're still back at the facility."

Sucking in a breath, she told him that there was no chance in Hell she was letting this thing get past her. On the chance that it was there for the hammer, Clint and Dr. Wheaton were in danger.

"Be careful, Ag- Rose." Coulson finally replied. She frowned. He'd never called her by her first name before. "And kick ass."

Smiling, she turned the communication link off. She turned, looking back at everyone else. Thor, Jane, Darcy, and Selvig had left to help evacuate the other townspeople. The machine was growing closer to them by the minute. Each time it opened its face, the machine released a fiery red blast that took out cars and blasted buildings.

"What's this thing called again?" She called to them.

"Odin's Destroyer!" Lady Sif relayed, a slight smile on her face.

The Destroyer. How nice. "Lady Sif, go in for the sneak attack. Warriors, you are with me." She told them. Lady Sif nodded and hurried off, darting in between smoking cars and abandoned buildings. Fandral told Rose that it was an honor to once again fight by her side. "Now, do they call you 'dashing' because you're charming or because you run quickly? Since we're about to fight, I would prefer that you use the second reason."

Volstagg let out a hearty laugh and punched Fandral on the shoulder. The three warriors began contemplating what strategy they would use to distract the Destroyer. Fandral suggested several and then Volstagg turned on them, a wild look in his eyes to match his smile. "How about "the Flying Mountain"?" Both Fandral and Hogun began saying no, but Volstagg assured them that it was a great idea.

The Destroyer was growing closer and closer.

Volstagg told her to stand back. They would provide the first hit to the Destroyer and then she could deliver the kill blow. "By all means…" She stepped aside, waving her hand toward the Destroyer.

Volstagg stood in place, shaking his arms out. Hogun and Fandral took off running straight toward the Destroyer. Then, Volstagg took off after them. When he reached them, they each grabbed one of his arms and flung him towards the Destroyer. He shouted something she didn't quite catch. He smacked against the metal machine. The Destroyer swayed and then regained its balance. The machine picked Volstagg up by the back of the neck and tossing him away. He landed on top of Fandral and Hogun, all three of them falling to the ground.

"Any other great ideas?" She shouted at them.

Lady Sif jumped down from one of the rooftops, landing on the back of the Destroyer's neck. She plunged her sword into the back of the neck. It stood still, the fiery light going dim. Volstagg started to cheer just as the machine whirred back to life, the light returning inside it. It spun its torso around and Sif jumped off just in time to avoid the blast it released. The Destroyer yanked Sif's spear out and tossed it aside. Letting out another blast, the machine sent Sif and the warriors flying.

"All right then." She mumbled. She pulled out her sword and balanced it in her hand. She started off towards the Destroyer. "Hey!" She shouted as it began to turn away. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

The Destroyer stopped in its tracks. It turned slowly to face her. It opened its face and she took off running. She slid under it, barely avoiding the heat of the blast. Standing behind it, she swung her sword, hitting the machine in the leg. Again, it spun its torso around, staring down at her. "Long time, no see." She shoved the sword upwards, lodging the weapon in the Destroyer's face. It tried to jerk up, but she held it down in place. She grabbed on to one of the eye slits and pulled the face down. Pulling out her sword, she put it back through the machine's chest.

"Sister! Enough!" Thor called out. She looked over at him, still forcing the machine to stay down. "This is my fight, not yours."

What the hell was he saying? He couldn't fight. He was mortal. He didn't have the strength to kill it, let alone survive fighting it. "Let me. I can win." She told him.

He said it wasn't about her. "Brother," he said, looking at the Destroyer, "I am sorry for whatever I have done to make you do this. Whatever I did to wrong you, I am sorry. These are innocent people and should not pay for my mistakes. Let them live." He continued to walk towards them. "You can have my life, if that is what you wish. Take it here and now and know that I will never come home."

He couldn't…He couldn't be serious. Her hand fell from the eye, releasing the machine. It raised up, and in her disregard, her sword clattered to the ground. The Destroyer stared down at Thor, taking him in. The Destroyer lifted a hand and smacked it against Thor. Something cracked in the air and he went flying backwards.

Rose picked up her sword and took off running to where Thor had landed in front of Smith Motors. She knelt down and saw his eyes were half-closed. "Brother." She whispered, putting her hand on his face.

He smiled weakly. "I am glad to know that you are alive, sister." His eyes fluttered close.

She choked on a sob. Looking back at the Asgardian warriors, she shook her head once. She saw their faces fall. Looking down at him, she felt heat course through her. Her cheeks flushed with warmth as she got to her feet. She turned, her eyes narrowed dangerously at the Destroyer. One hand curled into a fist and the other held onto the hilt of her sword so tight her knuckles were turning white.

"Loki." She snarled through gritted teeth.

The Destroyer seemed to be staring down at her. She tossed the sword aside, hearing the metal clang against the blacktop of the road. She released her hands and then re-clenched them both into fists. This time, she didn't even need to close her eyes to direct all of her attention to one thought: _destroy_.

She raised her hands, holding them in the air for a fraction of a second. Something in her eyes changed. They seemed to almost glow a dark golden color. She shouted out wordlessly, pushing her hands back down towards the ground. The ground shook. It seemed to make a rumbling noise, the shaking growing stronger. And then it stopped.

The Destroyer took a step towards her. Beneath it, the ground made a cracking noise. It split open, the fissure spreading from under her feet to the feet of the Asgardian machine. Her mouth broke into a wide smile as the Destroyer was knocked off its feet and flew backwards.

She turned back around and picked up her sword. She wiped the blade off on the leg of her suit. The high screech of metal made her stomach churn. "You have got to be kidding." She muttered. She looked back over her shoulder to see the Destroyer getting to its feet. "Do I have to actually disintegrate you?" She yelled. The Destroyer's face plate slid open. "Disintegrate it is." She sighed.

The fiery red energy rose up inside of the machine and she prepared herself. It shot out towards her and she raised her sword, blocking the blast with the blade. She could feel the heat on her face and threatening to burn her hands. She grimaced, trying to push forward. Her foot slid back, and she tightened her legs.

Above, thunder cracked. Lightning flashed right in front of her, blinding her. She stumbled back, hoping the pain of the blast would be minimal. But it never came.

She lifted her arm from over her face, squinting to see through the smoke and dust. When it cleared, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Thor, dressed fully in battle armor, Mjolnir in his hand.

He slammed the war hammer down on the ground and lightning struck the Destroyer. The machine convulsed and Thor spun the hammer in the air and was lifted up by the force of the wind. The sky darkened as storm clouds formed around him. The Destroyer stood and its face plate opened. She saw the glow of energy rising up and hoped her brother knew what the hell he was doing. He redirected the hammer downward toward the Destroyer as the column of energy shot out in his direction. Mjolnir held the blast off from him as Thor grew closer to the Destroyer. He thrust the hammer down into the face plate of the machine.

With a deafening sound, the Destroyer imploded. Thor slammed Mjolnir down on the Destroyer one final time. He got to his feet and yanked the hammer from the face plate of the destroyed machine. He walked over to her, extending his hand and pulling her to her feet. "It's nice to see that your love for the fight has not changed." He told her with a grim smile.

She threw her arms around him, hugging him. "I'm glad you're alive." She told him quietly.

"Agent Wheaton." Someone called out. She let go of Thor, turning around. Coulson and several other agents had arrived. "I think we all need to have a talk."

* * *

Thor said it was imperative to go back to Asgard immediately and put a stop to whatever Loki was doing. From what she remembered about him, she couldn't believe that her other brother had concocted such a heinous plan and attempted to kill Thor. Then again, he had liked stabbing Thor an awful lot when they were children.

"You have to come back." Coulson told her. "You're one of our best agents." It pained him to say it, she knew that much.

"Son of Coul, my sister belongs in Asgard, it is her home. Not here. She has been gone for many years, her leaving again will not be negotiable." Thor said sternly. "She will remain in Asgard."

Coulson started to argue, but Rose put a hand on his shoulder. She shook her head, mouthing for him to leave it alone. She looked between the two of them. "When I always pictured two guys fighting over me, it wasn't like this." She told them. "And whether I come back is my decision and mine alone. I may have called Asgard home once, but now Midgard is my home as well. I have a life here, a family. I won't leave it all behind." She explained to her brother. "I'm coming back here once we stop Loki." Thor began to argue with him, but she told him to let her finish. "Just because I remember who I am now doesn't mean that I'm the same person that I was. Because I'm not. I am Nola Odinsdottir _and _I am Rosalie Wheaton. Not one or the other. I won't choose."

She thought he was going to argue with her. That's what it looked like. But instead, he smiled. "Stubborn little sister, just as I remember. It isn't me you have to convince anyway, it's Mother and Father." There was an amused glint in his eyes, and she didn't think she liked it. She didn't want to think of how hard it would be to convince a mother and father that she barely remembered to let her travel between worlds. They had lost a daughter for a few hundred years and probably wouldn't be too keen on interworld travel.

Her gaze met Coulson's. "Tell Fury I'll be back as soon as I can and to keep my apartment open for me. Keep an eye on Barton and Romanoff for me. Tell Dr. Wh- Liam- tell Liam that I said thank you for everything and that I…I love him." He nodded at everything she said. On impulse, she hugged him tightly. He hugged her back and it didn't feel as odd as she had thought it would. Maybe they were closer than she realized. "Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone, Phil. I won't be long." She told him. She pulled back and looked behind him. Cale and Garrett were looking past her at the other Asgardians. "Hey, dumbasses." She snapped her fingers, drawing their attention. Cale kept from rolling his eyes when he looked at her. "Try not to completely ruin S.H.I.E.L.D. while I'm gone. I'd like to have something respectable to come back to."

Garrett stifled a laugh. "We'll do our best, Agent Wheaton. Or, should I call you Princess?" She said that Agent Wheaton was good. He nodded and then his face went slack. "Wait. You insulted us just a minute ago, didn't you?"

She laughed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Cale groaned. "Sister." Thor called. "It's time."

With one last pat on Coulson's shoulder, she joined Thor and the other four Asgardians. "Heimdall, let us through!" Thor shouted into the sky.

Nothing happened. A tense silence filled the passing moments where they only stood and looked at one another.

Thor frowned before looking up at the sky once more. "Something is wrong. Heimdall would open the Bifrost if he were able to."

Volstagg groaned, fearing the absolute worst: they were all trapped on Midgard forever. Fandral joined with him and stated that they all had to immediately succumb to their circumstance and begin behaving as true Midgardians. "Princess, perhaps you could show me the way?" He asked, his eyes dazzling with charm.

Rosalie cut her eyes at him. "Fandral, now is not the time. And surely you remember that your empty flattery will get you nowhere with me." A bright blush covered the warrior's cheeks as he told her that none of his flattery towards her would ever be empty.

"Heimdall!" Thor shouted out. "Heimdall, open the Bifrost!"

Even though a small part of her had been looking forward to seeing Asgard once again, she felt a guilty twinge of happiness at being able to stay in her old life for good. She wanted to stay Rosalie Wheaton forever.

A large blast tore her from her thoughts. The Bifrost had exploded down from the sky, glowing a hundred different colors. "Son of Coul," Thor shouted out, "you are an ally to my sister and therefore, an ally to myself and to Asgard from here on out. However, you must return all of Jane Foster's items that you stole."

Rosalie gave Coulson a taunting grin, mouthing an _I told you so _to him. "Of course." Coulson relented without hesitation. "After all, Dr. Foster, you'll need all of your equipment if you're going to continue the research that S.H.I.E.L.D. will be sponsoring in full from now on." He told her.

_Good decision, _Rosalie thought. Maybe they wouldn't be so bad off after all. Thor pressed a chaste kiss to Jane's hand, promising to return for her. He grabbed hold of her and kissed her fully on the mouth. Rosalie grimaced, turning away.

"We must go." Thor said. He grabbed onto Rosalie's hand and pulled her into the Bifrost. She felt her body being jerked upwards, a stark coolness washing over her.

When she settled, her feet were firmly on the floor of an observatory. A large man that she recognized as Heimdall was lying over the brightly glowing controls. Thor ordered the warriors to rush Heimdall to the healers. He told them that she and he would handle their brother.

"Come. I hope it isn't too late." He told her. He rushed out the door, towards the rainbow bridge and she followed after him.

* * *

She had always been able to run fast, even before she remembered who she was. But being in Asgard, something overtook her. She almost felt like she was running faster than she ever had. Maybe things went differently in this realm. Maybe people moved faster there. They had made it across the bridge and through the palace in a matter of minutes. She hadn't had the time to glance around and relish the memory of her old life in the palace. Lives were, apparently, at stake.

Thor burst into the room in front of her. She stood behind him, looking past him. Their brother and mother were standing to the side, several dead Jotun on the floor. Their father, King Odin, was safe, deep in the Odinsleep.

"Thor!" Their mother exclaimed. She moved from Loki and embraced Thor lovingly. Thor stiffly hugged her back, his sight settled harshly on Loki.

In all the excitement, neither Frigga nor Loki had noticed Rosalie. She shifted, clearing her throat. "You know, after a couple hundred years of being gone, I expected a warmer welcome home. Even amidst the family drama." She spoke up.

Frigga's head jerked, looking back at her. "By the Allfather…" She murmured, backing away from Thor.

Loki's jaw went slack. "Nola." He gritted.

"You've been busy, brother. Not looking for me, trying to take over Asgard. How do you find time to style your hair?" She asked him.

Frigga asked what was going on. "Tell her." Thor ordered Loki. "Tell Mother what you've done!" Frigga put a hand on Thor's arm. "Are you afraid to tell our mother that you sent the Destroyer to kill me and our friends?"

Loki's face remained passive, his eyes trained on Thor. "I think that you are confused." He told Thor. "The Destroyer must have only been playing out Father's last order." Thor said he was, and always had been, a skilled liar. "We've missed you." Loki smiled. "Both of you." He looked at Rosalie. "But you'll both have to excuse me. We've just been attacked by the Jotun and I need to go destroy them all." But he raised the weapon in his hands and aimed it at Thor. He fired and Thor flew through the wall.

Loki took off, racing from the room. Rosalie looked at Frigga, an uneasy smile on her face. "Brothers." She rolled her eyes.

Frigga embraced her, holding on tight. "I have missed you so much, Nola." Almost uncomfortable, Rosalie hugged her back. When Frigga pulled away, she nodded her head towards the door. "Now, go stop your brothers from killing each other as you've always done. They listen to you."

"Because I make them." She grinned.

She took off running, her legs pushing faster and faster. She could barely feel the clamor of her sword against her back amidst all her thoughts. _Stop Loki. Save Thor. Get back home. Where is _home_?_

Her feet barely seemed to be hitting the ground as she ran through the palace. A loud, booming sound jolted her to a stop. In the sky, she could see the energy of the Bifrost lighting the sky. The column of energy was shooting off diagonally into space.

Something blurred overhead and she caught a glimpse of the red of Thor's cape. Taking a deep breath, she began to run towards the Rainbow Bridge.

* * *

Her feet skidded to a stop as she made it to Heimdall's Observatory. Loki had Gungnir in his grip, Thor on the floor. He had the weapon aimed at their brother. He smacked the weapon across Thor's face.

"Fight me, brother!" Loki shouted at him. "Get up and fight me!" He swung Gungnir again and Thor caught it. He pulled his hammer back and went into the air. He flew past Loki, his hammer aimed at the frozen control panel. Loki spun quickly on his heel, firing Gungnir at Thor. The blast froze Thor mid-air.

"Do you truly believe the throne is worth all of this?" Thor asked him. "Is it worth the person you will become if you destroy Jotunheim?"

Rosalie huffed a breath and stepped into the observatory. "Now, I thought if any of us would be doing any destroying, it would be me." Loki spun to face her, aiming the Gungnir at her. She raised her hands into the air, telling him that she didn't want to fight him.

"You always want to fight, little sister." Loki told her. He looked between them. "The throne. That's what you believe I want?" He scoffed, shaking his head. "I only ever wanted to be equal to the two of you, to be seen the way you were."

She lowered her hands, letting them hang at her sides. "We saw you that way, we always have. Does it matter so much what everyone else thought?" She asked. She took a step forward and Loki aimed the weapon back at Thor. "Stop this, Loki. If you stop now, what you've done can be forgiven. Put the weapon down and turn off the Bifrost."

The corner of Loki's mouth twitched. For half a moment, she thought it had worked. She had reached whatever deep crevice of Loki's heart she had needed to. Her shoulders relaxed.

And then his eyes darkened. "You've grown weak, little sister. Midgard has made you soft. There was a time when you would have resorted to fighting, not words." He turned his full attention to Thor. Her hands balled into fists at her sides. He fired the weapon once more and the blast flung Thor to the floor.

Thor stood up quickly, his face passive. "I am not going to fight you, brother. Have you gone mad?"

Loki grinned at him. "I have never been your brother." He fired again. Thor rolled out of the way and jumped back to his feet. "Don't tell me that woman back on Midgard made you soft!" He shouted. Thor's mouth tightened, but he didn't respond. "Maybe I will visit her once I'm finished here." Loki taunted.

She watched as the two of them lunged at one another. It almost seemed as if Loki had the upper hand, but Thor quickly overpowered him. Loki fired Gungnir again, the blast sending Thor across the room, toward the Bifrost column. Mjolnir flew into the column. Thor's hand shot out to summon the hammer, but it disappeared into the Bifrost.

"Your mercy for the Jotun will cost you your life." Loki snarled as Thor began to slide towards the Bifrost column.

Rosalie took a deep breath. She stretched out her fingers, raising one hand. "You've always been such a drama queen, Loki." He half-turned, his mouth open in retaliation. A blast of energy shot from her hand and hit Loki in the chest. The force sent him back into the wall, the Gungnir falling away from him.

She turned to Thor, reaching out her hand to him. The pull from the Bifrost was strong, willing her forward. Thor grabbed onto her hand, his fingers wrapping around her wrist. He held out his other hand, squeezing his eyes shut. A blast of wind knocked against her face and then Mjolnir was in Thor's hand, jerking them both away from the Bifrost.

Rosalie stumbled back, her hands falling onto the control panel for support. A blast blew past her face and she saw Loki running toward the entrance of the observatory. Thor took to the air, headed straight for him. The two of them crashed through the wall.

She gained her footing, running outside. Thor was standing over the edge of the Bridge, Loki hanging on to the edge. "Brother, help!" Loki pleaded.

Thor bent down, his hand extended. His hand passed through Loki's. A projection. How like him.

The true Loki appeared behind Thor, Gungnir in his hands once more. Thor spun around and Loki shoved the bladed end of the weapon into Thor's chest.

"No!" She found herself screaming.

Loki tossed Thor aside. He turned to her. "You were my favorite once." He told her. "You never made me feel less than or looked aside. But now, now I see you are just like them. High and mighty. Better than me. Not anymore."

"I'm growing tired of your pity party, Loki." She shot another energy blast at him. He turned his torso, narrowly avoiding the hit. He shimmered, disappearing and then reappearing behind Thor. Their brother was on his knees. He grabbed his hammer, swinging around at Loki. Mjolnir went right through him.

Another projection of Loki appeared next to him and Thor swung again. Several more projections appeared, Thor attempting to disable each of them with his hammer. "I have always been the more clever of us all."

Thor said that he still wasn't clever enough to beat him. He raised his hammer into the air. Thunder rumbled. A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting the top of the hammer. The bolt split apart, hitting each of the projections of Loki.

The projections dissolved, leaving the real Loki. The blast had thrown him backwards and knocked the weapon out of his grasp. Thor walked over to him, looking down at him. Rose ran over, grabbing Thor by the arm. She glanced down at his wound to see that the blood flow had already begun to slow. Thor placed Mjolnir atop Loki's chest to keep him from moving.

At the other side of the Bridge, the Bifrost was still firing on Jotunheim. Thor looked over at Rose, his eyes furrowed.

"Look at the two of you." Loki grumbled. "Odin's pride and joy. The Mighty Thor and the Ruinous Nola. All powerful, with no way to stop it."

Rosalie swallowed. Ruinous. All powerful. Once, that had been her. Destructive to no end, taking out everything in her path with no remorse. She could remember that person just as clearly as she remembered what she had eaten for breakfast that day.

Thor was looking down at the Bridge. The energy of the Bridge was causing it to vibrate beneath their feet. He looked to her and she understood exactly what he was thinking. "Are you sure?" She whispered. He nodded solemnly.

There would be no going back. They both knew that. Thor extended his hand and Mjolnir flew into his grasp. He raised the hammer into the air, thunder booming overhead. Lightning flashed. He swung down, Mjolnir cracking down onto the Bridge.

The ground beneath her feet shook. She could see where a small crack had formed. "What are you doing?" Loki shouted at Thor. He slammed the hammer down again, the crack widening. "Once the Bridge is destroyed, you will never see her again!" He told Thor.

He took off running towards the Gungnir. Rosalie closed her eyes, dropping down to her knees. She pressed her hands to the ground. Loki was right. If they destroyed the Bridge, there would be no way back to Midgard. Thor would never see Jane again. She would never see Dr. Wheaton or Fury again. Clint, Nat, Coulson. Not even Cale and Garrett. They would all be lost to her forever.

But the price was not one she was willing to pay. She couldn't let an entire race, an entire world, be destroyed.

She opened her eyes, channeling all of her thoughts and energy to her hands. The Bridge shook under her hands. As the blast from her hands went down into the Bridge, Thor struck down one last time.

The Bridge exploded, bits of energy flying around her. The force lifted her from the ground and hurled her back. She heard the sound of something being ripped apart in the distance. She landed hard on her back.

To the side, she saw Odin pulling Thor up from the side of the Bridge, the Gungnir in his hand. There was a strange expression on Odin's face when he looked at her. She understood the expression on Thor's face. Loki was gone.

She exhaled, running a hand through her hair. Thor began to start towards her. Something prickled inside her. The same feeling she got when something bad was about to happen. Chaos. Destruction. Whatever it was, it was coming.

She saw Thor's gaze divert and she turned her head. The observatory was crumbling in on itself. The dome caved in, sending one final blast of energy outward.

"Sister!" He shouted at her.

She looked down. Close enough to the jagged edge of the Bridge. Something like hope fluttered in her chest. There was always a chance that it wouldn't be death that met her.

_I'm sorry_, she thought, _but this isn't where I belong. Not anymore._

He was running, reaching out for her. She knew he would never make it in time. Or he would and whatever fate she was about to meet would seal itself around him as well. Odin grabbed him, holding him back.

She could feel the heat and the pressure of the blast barreling towards her.

With half a smile, she closed her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been two years. Two years since her entire life had changed. All it had taken was a hammer falling from the sky. One hammer and she had found out that she was an entirely different person.

Nola, goddess of chaos and destruction. An Asgardian princess, sister to the Almighty Thor.

Two years since they had stopped their brother Loki from destroying Jotunheim but had also lost his life in the process. And then she had been thrown from the Bifrost into oblivion.

What happened after, she didn't know. All she knew was that she had woken up in a S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital, Dr. Wheaton at her side. He relayed the events to her. Several sources in Oklahoma had seen a meteor or satellite streak through the sky and crash. One of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own satellites had picked up a blurred image of something resembling a comet or meteor hurtling towards Earth. Further investigation led to the satellite finding the crash-site, where a corn field had been completely decimated by a meteor.

Well, by her.

That was where they found her. Director Fury had immediately sent a recovery team to the small little town. They had extracted her and flew her back to D.C. for observations.

In the time she had been back and functioning, a lot had happened. Fury had tried to reassign her to office work. That hadn't gone over very well. They both knew she was an invaluable asset to the organization and sticking her behind piles of paperwork was only going to hurt them. In the end, she wound up back in the field with Nat and Clint. Fury had decided that, after recent events, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be aiming their future efforts towards defending Earth against extraterrestrial threats.

Within a few weeks, The World Security Council had given Fury the go-ahead for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s revision, going so far as to provide funding. After that meeting, Fury had approached her in secret and told her about his new vision for the world. A world protected by Earth's mightiest heroes. A group of extraordinarily capable individuals who could defend the world better than any of the ordinary military forces.

And he wanted _her_ to be a part of it. She had inhuman abilities and was a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., there was no one better suited. And if he ever returned, Thor was on the shortlist as well.

She didn't know how to say no. She couldn't say no. And she didn't.

When the time came, and she knew it would, she would be a member of Fury's Avengers Initiative.

* * *

For whatever it was worth, she wasn't the biggest fan of the Helicarrier. In theory, it was a great idea. A massive air vehicle serving as a mobile headquarters. Labs, bunks, offices. The Helicarrier even had the ability to go ghost, using a chameleon technology to blend in and go off the grid.

"It's nice." She mumbled to Nat. "A little much, but it's nice."

Nat chuckled, saying that Fury wanted to make sure that whatever his special team needed, they would have. "Are we being punished or rewarded for making it on the shortlist?"

She shrugged as they started down to the office level. Fury had his own office and so did Dr. Wheaton. "Hard to say with Fury at the helm. Maybe both."

Up above, she heard something crash. Her brain wanted to chalk it off to clumsy workers who had no doubt dropped something invaluable. But her gut, and the prickled tugging feeling in her stomach, said otherwise. Two years ago, she would have passed the feeling off as intuition, maybe even nerves, but now? Now she knew it was a feeling of recognition. Chaos recognized chaos and she knew when it was coming.

That was what the feeling told her then. "Something is wrong." She told Nat.

Almost instantly, both of them went into fight mode. Nat steeled herself and Rosalie adjusted the braces on her wrists. Dr. Wheaton had made them for her. After weeks of training her abilities, she always ended up unusually drained and weak. On a few occasions, she had even passed out. Testing had concluded that letting the chaos magic fully take over had a near-fatal effect on her. It would bring her to the brink of death and, Dr. Wheaton theorized, had the ability to actually kill her. To prevent that from happening, he had fashioned metal braces that had a technology that would limit her ability to use her power. With the braces on, she couldn't use the magic at full-force.

She heard a thud against the ceiling and her head jerked up. "Intruder?" She suggested. It should have been nearly impossible for the Helicarrier to gain an intruder. But they lived in a world where Asgardian gods existed and the jet that Captain America had crashed into the Artic way back when had been fully recovered, with Captain America somehow still alive. She was living proof that anything could happen.

"What could they be after?" Nat asked. "It's an empty ship. No cargo, no crew. Nothing."

Rosalie glanced back at the metal staircase. Down the hall, she could see the line of offices squared off. Fury's was at the very end of the hall, his being the biggest. His hard-drive had all the important information about the Avengers Initiative. The shortlist, personnel files, specs of the Helicarrier. Anything that Fury deemed necessary for his pet project, it was on that computer.

"Avengers Initiative." They whispered together.

"You secure Fury's office. I'll take the upper decks." Rose told Nat. She didn't wait for Nat's confirmation before she turned, sprinting up the stairs.

Several of the guards on the bunk deck were lying unconscious at the entrance of the level. None of the doors were open, but then again, what intruder would want to check out the bunks? She ran up the stairs at the other end of the hall, entering the med level. Everything seemed to be in place. Some of the equipment hadn't been brought in yet, but a lot of the highly classified medicines and experimental drugs were locked up.

She double-checked the cabinet, giving the padlock a rough yank. It had been designed to withhold against even her superhuman strength. But it was just an extra precaution. If someone managed to get past the padlock, there was an eye retina scanner, fingerprint, and then a coded password. Someone had to have the key, the right eye scan, the right fingerprint, and a special password before being allowed to enter the cabinet.

"Stand down, Wheaton. It was an exercise." Nat's voice waved in her ear.

Her shoulders slumped in relief. "Says who?"

"Barton. He's our intruder. Head down to Fury's office."

She unfastened the braces on her wrists, sticking them in her belt. By the time she got back down to Fury's office, the director himself was sitting behind his desk. Nat and Clint were standing off to the side, talking quietly.

"Great work, both of you." Fury told them. "You assessed the situation, made a quick plan, and acted accordingly. Had this been a real situation, you would have failed. Despite your best efforts, Agent Barton still managed to break into my office and access the files." Rose leaned against the wall, asking what the point of the training exercise was. He patted the top of his computer. "All of the top-secret information about the world's most capable and powerful individuals is on this hard-drive. The World Council doesn't even have most of the information on here. I wanted to test the security. And the two of you."

She crossed her arms over her chest, glancing at Nat and Clint and then looked back to Fury. "Does this mean it's happening? Is the Avengers Initiative coming into play?" She asked him. Thor was off-world. Tony Stark had not-so-politely declined the offer. Bruce Banner was on some kind of self-discovery mission in Asia and no one had seen the big guy in months. Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, was out of commission, as Fury put it. No one was to contact him. He was taking time adjusting to the 21st century.

That left the three of them standing before Fury. Natasha Romanoff. Clinton Barton. Herself, Rosalie Wheaton. Also known as Nola.

"It shouldn't." Clint spoke. "Half the names on that list aren't reliable candidates. You said it yourself, Wheaton, there's a good chance Thor is never coming back. Rogers more than likely doesn't want to put the suit back on. Banner…there's always a bigger risk than reward with him. And well, we all know Tony Stark. He works for himself and only himself."

Fury leaned forward in his chair. "You make valid points, Barton, but we can count on them. I promise."

Rose pushed off the wall, keeping her arms crossed. "You didn't answer my question, though." She reminded him. Her arms fell to her sides and she used her hands to lean against his desk. "Is it happening? Are you calling up the force?"

There was a glint in his eyes that made her believe it. Something had happened, something none of them knew about, and Fury was about to make the call to bring together the most powerful people to protect their world.

"No." He finally said. "Not yet."

She hadn't expected to feel so deflated at hearing the world wasn't in imminent danger.

"I'll only make the call when the world most needs the Avengers. And only then."

* * *

It was a lonely time to be in Washington D.C. Nat was undercover. Fury, Dr. Wheaton, Coulson, and Clint were all at the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility. She had been left behind to 'keep an eye on Cale and Garrett', as Coulson had joked. Surprisingly, the two idiots had grown up a lot over the past two years.

"Agent Wheaton, what are you doing here?"

She looked up from the catalog. Most of her shopping occurred online after circling half-interesting things in catalogs Nat not-so-discreetly dropped off. Her salad sat untouched in front of her.

Agent Brock Rumlow was standing in front of her. He was dressed unusually formal, suit and tie.

"In the cafeteria or at work?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because if you're asking why I'm in the cafeteria, it's because I hate my office and it's my lunch break. But if you're wondering about why-."

Rumlow had an irritatingly easy smile. Like it was something that came very natural to him. At least, that was what she thought. She had never seen him smile much. Granted, she didn't think she had even seen anyone on the STRIKE team smile that often. "I meant, why are you in D.C.? I figured you would have accompanied Fury and Dr. Wheaton."

She closed the catalog, laying it down on the table. "Someone has to keep Cale and Garrett in line." She told him.

He motioned to the empty seat and she nodded. He sat down next to her, placing a salad container and water bottle on the table. "Heard you put the fear of God in them down in New Mexico."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Not like it's very hard. The dumbasses aren't the brightest bulbs we've got in the box." Rumlow agreed, but said they had to take what they could. Great recruits weren't exactly easy to come by anymore. "Right. They all don't just fall out of the sky with no memory and superpowers." Something in her pocket buzzed and she took out her phone. Unidentifiable number. She excused herself from Rumlow and walked out of the cafeteria to the patio area. "Who is this?"

"Wheaton, it's Fury."

Something in his voice sounded off. "What happened?"

As Fury spoke, her heart settled itself in the deep pit of her gut. She had grabbed onto a patio table for support. The longer he went on, the worse she felt. Something cracked in her hand. When she looked down at the table, she saw that she had broken it in two. The halves lay haphazardly on the concrete ground, jagged like a broken heart.

* * *

She met the quinjet on the southern helipad of the Triskelion. Fury stepped out first, a morbidly solemn look on his face. Coulson and Agent Hill exited behind him, engaged in a quiet and serious conversation.

"I'm sorry." Fury said. He wasn't one for hugs and if he had of been, she didn't think she would have accepted it. "I know he meant a lot to you."

She blinked, refusing to cry. They didn't have time for that. Fury hadn't given her much information on the phone, only quick specs. "It's part of the job." She said thickly. "Now, what exactly happened?"

He relayed the events to her. The Tesseract had been acting up, turning on by itself and surging energy levels. They had evacuated the facility of people and important equipment. Then, the Tesseract had opened up a portal. "Wheaton, it was Loki." He told her.

Loki. The bitter-hearted brother who had let himself fall from the Rainbow Bridge into oblivion. "You're sure?" She asked quietly. "I thought he would be dead." She paused, glancing back at Coulson and Hill. "Then again, I survived the fall. Why shouldn't he have?"

Fury put a comforting hand on her shoulder before they began to walk again. They made it to the elevator and stepped in, waiting for Hill and Coulson. Coulson said they would give them some alone time and take the next lift down. The doors slid shut.

S.H.I.E.L.D. did not believe in elevator music.

As they descended, she could see the Potomac in the back, water glistening in the sun. "What else?"

Fury told her that Loki had come with a scepter of sorts and had taken out several agents. In the end, Loki had gotten away with the Tesseract and a few agents. "Dr. Selvig and Agent Barton were among those who were compromised." He said it with such a finality that she almost wondered if he meant they had died as well. "This is a Level Seven, Agent Wheaton, do you understand what that means?"

She drew her eyes away from the Potomac so that she was looking right at him. The name had a new meaning now. Agent Wheaton. It had been love, acceptance, a family and home in spite of a void of nothingness in the back of her mind. Now, it meant war.

"Yes. I do." Something gold flashed behind the blue of her eyes.

* * *

The Helicarrier was going up at any time. Agents were scurrying around the top deck, making sure everything was in check. Coulson was bringing in Captain Rogers. She was waiting with Nat on the hangar for Coulson to arrive. She was to take Coulson to Fury for further debriefing.

"Four months ago, Fury was telling us that this wasn't happening anytime soon. And now here we are." Rose muttered.

Nat gave her a sympathetic look. They had both lost the people they were closest to. At least Nat's had a chance of coming back. "You know if you ever want to talk about it…"

Rose shook her head. "I'm fine. Really."

The low roar of the quinjet came overhead and she looked up. She watched as it landed and a few minutes later, Coulson stepped out with a man she could only assume was Captain Steve Rogers.

He was a lot more handsome in person. Slicked back hair, fresh face. Great body. She chastised herself for thinking of such things at a time.

"Captain Rogers, this is Agent Romanoff." He motioned to Nat. "And this is Agent Wheaton." Captain Rogers nodded cordially at both of them.

"Coulson, you're needed elsewhere. A little face-to-face time." Rose told him. She turned her attention to Steve. "Glad to have you on the team." She and Coulson began walking away. Curiosity got the best of her and she turned back. Rogers was looking at her in a precarious manner. She jerked her head back around. "So, was it everything you ever dreamed? Meeting your childhood hero?"

Coulson couldn't keep the grin from his face. "I'm sure I sounded like an idiot." She assured him that there was no way he could have, Cale and Garrett were around somewhere claiming that title for themselves. The jab at the two absent agents made Coulson shake his head in disapproval, but she saw the hint of a smile he was hiding.

They made it to the bridge of the ship. By the time they arrived, the Helicarrier had gone ghost mode. There were a few dozen agents stationed in the bridge area. Each had a computer viewscreen to work from. These were the agents tasked with scouring the planet for signs of Loki, the Tesseract, Dr. Selvig, and Clint.

Agent Hill was standing at the command center, Fury next to her in the command chair.

"Brought you a friend." She told Fury, motioning to Coulson. "Nice work, letting him bring Rogers in."

Coulson's cheeks turned pink. "It was an honor, sir. Thank you."

Fury stood up from the chair. "Great work, Agent Coulson. I need you to make a call for me." He pulled Coulson aside and the two of them walked a few feet away.

Rose turned to Agent Hill. "Everything holding up okay?"

Agent Hill nodded. She reported that the reflectors were working correctly, and the engines seemed to be in good shape. "Agent Wheaton, are you…holding up okay? I know how close you and Dr. Wheaton have grown over the years."

Rose looked out at the sky. "Yes, thank you. I want to find my brother and bring him to justice."

"Dr. Banner. Captain Rogers." She heard Fury speak up.

She turned back around just in time to see Captain Rogers hand Fury a ten-dollar bill. Fury pocketed the cash and extended his hand to Dr. Banner. Banner shook it carefully before shoving his hand back in the front pocket of his pants.

"Thank you both for coming." Fury told them. Dr. Banner asked how long he would be needed. "You're good to go as soon as the Tesseract is back in our possession." Rosalie excused herself from Agent Hill and went to stand beside Fury. "You've met Agent Wheaton?" He asked the two men.

"Yes sir." Captain Rogers nodded once.

"She's one of our best. She and Agent Romanoff will be working on the team with you." Fury told them. Dr. Banner asked where they were in the process of locating the Tesseract. Fury left Coulson to explain.

Coulson told Dr. Banner that S.H.I.E.L.D. had access to every wireless camera on the globe. If the Tesseract connected to the satellite, they would know immediately. Nat, who had entered the bridge and was standing behind one of the agents who had an image of Clint pulled up, told Coulson that even with all the camera access, they still didn't have a lot of time.

"How many spectrometers can you get me access to?" Dr. Banner asked Fury. He said as many as he needed. "Call any lab you can think of and have them put their spectrometers on the roof and to calibrate them for gamma rays." Banner instructed. "I can draw up an algorithm to track the Tesseract and it can rule out at least a few places. Is there a lab I can use?"

Everything he was saying was flying right over her head. The only thing she managed to latch onto was gamma rays. She knew that Dr. Banner, in an attempt to recreate Dr. Abraham Erskine's super-solider serum, had used gamma radiation and ended up turning into a big green not-so-jolly giant. Hopefully, this time around went better.

"Agent Romanoff will escort you to your laboratory." Fury told her.

Nat walked over and nodded in the direction of the hall. "Come on, Doc. Let me show you all our toys." Banner sped up his walk to catch up with her and Rosalie watched the two of them disappear.

Rosalie looked at Fury. "Permission to try something?" She asked, glancing down at her wrists. The thick metal braces around her wrists glinted in the stream of sunlight coming through the window.

Wheaton had crafted them from iridium, one of the rarer elements S.H.I.E.L.D. had gotten its hands on. The element could create antiprotons, which Dr. Wheaton had found could stabilize the amount of power she used.

"Granted."

She unlocked the braces and took them from her wrists. She handed them to Fury, and he gave her a questioning look. Walking over to the window that overlooked the sky, she pressed her hands against the glass. She closed her eyes and focused.

The glass directly beneath her hands vibrated against her palms. Chaos recognized chaos. Maybe she could focus hard enough and detect the energy of the Tesseract.

Behind her, she could hear Coulson talking about his vintage Captain America cards. "Phil." She said sharply.

"Agent Wheaton?"

"Shut up."

She heard him clamp his mouth shut. "What is she doing?" Captain Rogers whispered.

"No clue." Coulson murmured.

Something pulled in her gut. Her eyes flashed open, tinged in gold. She turned around just as Agent Sitwell spun around from his computer. "Got a match!"

_Knew it_, she told herself.

Sitwell said the match was a sixty-seven percent and a seventy-nine for weight and cross-matching. She walked over to his space and peered down at his computer. "That's him." She looked back at Fury.

Coulson asked where the hit had come from. "Stuttgart, in Germany. 28 Konigstrasse. Right out in the open." Sitwell told him.

Fury nodded. "Wheaton, Rogers. Suit up."

Rosalie clapped Sitwell on the shoulder. "Good work." She muttered. She breezed past Coulson, looking over at Captain Rogers. "Hope you're ready for a fight, Captain. He won't go down easy."

* * *

They were in her quinjet. Well, it was technically S.H.I.E.L.D.'s quinjet, but it was her favorite.

"How long have you worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Captain Rogers asked her. He was sitting next to her, his leg bouncing. The famous Captain America shield was next to him.

"A few years." She replied. He asked what she was bringing to the table. Specifically, what made her good enough to be on the team. A funny smile found itself on her face. "You'll see."

Her ear piece crackled. "Go time, you two. Time to quit the flirting." Nat's voice teased.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Captain Rogers's cheeks turn a rosy pink. He stood up, strapping his shield to his arm. "See you down there." He told her.

She stood up, fake-saluting him. "Aye-aye, Captain."

He pulled the door open and took a deep breath. She watched him jump from the jet. The familiar feeling had settled in her stomach. It was about to go down. She waited a few seconds before jumping out of the jet.

Cool air blasted against her. It burned against her face. The ground was coming up quick. She landed on her feet, stray pebbles crunching under her boots. A blast of blue shot past her and she ducked.

She jumped to her feet. Something flew past her and she heard the clang of metal against concrete. She looked over. There was a large crowd of people huddled together. She saw the shield discarded on the ground. Loki was standing over Captain Rogers, the scepter pointed at his head.

She sighed, unsheathing her sword and holding it at her side. "Loki. Stand down." She called.

His head turned half an inch, so that he was looking back at her, but his attention wasn't completely away from Captain Rogers. "Little sister." He half-smiled. "Why am I not surprised?"

"_Sister_?" Rogers repeated. He flipped up, knocking Loki away with his leg. Loki grabbed him and then flipped him back on the ground.

"Your taste in company is still poor, I see." Loki told her.

"Still trying to take over the world, I see." She retorted.

Music blared overhead. Her head shot up to the sky. She didn't recognize the song. "Miss me, Agent Romanoff? Agent Wheaton, you're looking fantastic." The voice was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

A blur of red and gold flew over and landed in front of her. She huffed a laugh. The one and only Tony Stark. His hand extended and something shot out and knocked Loki to the ground. Several pieces of weaponry extended from the Iron Man suit, all aimed at Loki.

"Your move, Reindeer Games." Tony said. Loki was half-lying half-sitting on the ground. He held his hands up in surrender and his armor disappeared. "Right call."

Captain Rogers stood up. "Mr. Stark." He nodded cordially.

Tony greeted him. "Agent Wheaton."

"I was beginning to wonder when you would show up." She said, sliding the sword back in the sheath. "And then I remembered your penchant for grand entrances." She strutted over to Loki, pulling him to his feet. She held his hands in front of him and snapped a cuff over both his wrists. She stared back at Tony and Steve. "Are the two of you going to help or just stand around like idiots?"

Loki grinned. "Feisty as ever, little sister."

"Keep your mouth shut." She snarled. "You've got some explaining to do." She jerked him forward as she began to walk away. "One of you get the scepter." She pressed a finger against her ear com. "Nat, touch down."

* * *

She kept Loki next to her on the quinjet. Steve and Tony were both eyeing her. "Are we just…not going to talk about it?" Tony asked.

She arched an eyebrow. "About what? Your late addition to the team. Tardiness comes with a penalty, Stark." Outside, thunder boomed.

He rolled his eyes. "The whole brother-sister thing. You know him?"

She got up from the seat. Giving Loki a warning glare, she went to stand next to them. "I'm not from around here." She told them. Steve was staring back at her with a wary look in his eyes. "Don't worry, Cap, I'm team Earth all the way. Loki and I aren't on the best of terms, not since he tried to destroy an entire race of people."

Steve sighed. "You said he wouldn't make it easy. That didn't seem so difficult to me." He reminded her. "But he does pack quite the punch."

She glanced back at Loki. He was staring back at her, blue eyes bright. Tony mentioned that Steve was in good shape for an elderly guy. He asked what he did to keep his body looking good.

Rose mumbled that she was going to go up and check in with Nat on their arrival time. Nat was talking with Fury on the intercom. "How're we looking?" She asked, leaning over Nat's seat.

"A few more hours if this storm lets up. If the lightning gets worse, we may have to touch down for the night." Nat reported. She didn't think they could afford to wait until morning. They needed to get Loki back to the Helicarrier and find out where the Tesseract was. Where Dr. Selvig and Clint were.

The quinjet shook as lightning struck. Nat gripped onto the controls and kept the jet from turning too abruptly. Rose grabbed onto the back of her chair to steady herself. Her stomach flipped just as a deafening noise ripped through the jet.

"What the hell?" She told Nat she was going to check back in with the guys. She raced to the back of the jet. The ramp door had been ripped open and Loki was gone. Her eyes widened as she looked at Steve and Tony. "Where is he?" She growled.

"Some guy in a cape came in, grabbed him, and flew out." Steve told her.

Guy in a cape?

"Could it be another Asgardian?" Nat asked over the coms. Steve asked if he was friendly.

Rose clenched her fists at her sides. "I've got this one." She told them. She took out her sword, holding it level to her chest. Her clothes shifted, the dark navy suit materializing into a grey and red battle suit, silver armor fastened over it. The cape flowed in the wind.

"Agent-." Steve started.

She didn't give him time to finish his sentence before jumping out of the quinjet. She could barely see in the dark, but somehow her sword knew exactly where to go. She landed on the side of a mountain ledge. Thor and Loki were in front of her. Loki was half on the ground, looking up at Thor.

"Where's the Tesseract, Loki?" Thor boomed. Loki chuckled, saying that he had missed him. "I am not playing, brother!"

"Clearly." Rosalie announced herself.

Thor spun around, knocking part of the mountain off with Mjolnir. "Nola?"

She half-waved, walking forward. "The Tesseract isn't on him. And next time, ask before stealing our brother."

They both looked at Loki, who seemed pleasantly amused with his current situation. She asked what was funny. "You both should be praising me, washing me over in thanks. How much dark energy did the Allfather utilize in order to send you here?" He asked Thor. "All to save your sweet Midgard."

Thor dropped his hammer and the ground shook. Before she could stop him, he lunged forward and picked Loki up. He slammed Loki into the side of the mountain. "We all thought you were dead!" Rose sheathed the sword and crossed her arms over her chest. Loki asked if they had mourned his death. "Everyone." Thor told him. "Father-."

"_Your_ father." Loki corrected. Thor let him go and Loki walked away from him. "You are aware of my true parentage, aren't you? The stolen child, the bastard babe of war. Nothing compared to Odin's precious prince and princess, the true heirs to his throne."

Her arms fell to her sides. She scoffed, shaking her head. "Loki, please. We grew up together." Thor reminded him. "We were all raised as siblings. We have fought by each other's sides."

Loki's mouth formed a snarl. "Do you know what I remember? I remember growing up in the shadow of the two of you. I remember, brother, how it felt when you tossed me into a black abyss and never looked back. You were groomed to be king, but it should have been me!" Thor said he had gone mad. He couldn't use Midgard as a gambling piece, a way to get his revenge. Thor was the protector of Earth. "I mean them no harm. I only wish to rule them."

"Ruling would not suit you, brother." Thor said. "You have missed the true nature of being a ruler."

Loki shoulder-shoved him as he walked past him. He glared at her as he walked to the ledge of the mountain side. "The two of you are ignorant beyond imagination. I have seen things you could never dream of. In my time gone, I have found the furthest potential of the Tesseract and I mean to use it." Thor demanded to know who was calling the shots behind Loki. Loki said that he was in control, he was the king. Thor ordered him to come back to Asgard immediately.

Her jaw flinched. "Enough." She decided. Loki stared back at her. "I've grown tired of listening to you two bickering like children. And I am so sick of your woe is me bullshit, Loki." She snapped at him. "You're going to hand over the Tesseract and then go back to Asgard and serve your punishing time. Tell me where you've hidden it."

"I know not where the Tesseract is."

Her eyes glinted gold. She ripped Thor away from Loki, not bothering to see where he landed. She wrapped her hand around Loki's throat. "I'm not messing around, Loki. I want the Tesseract. And I want you to undo the mind control you've placed over everyone."

"You mean, your friends. The doctor and the archer."

She tightened her hold on his throat. "People _died_, Loki. Your games are over." A gust of wind rushed by. She turned her head in time to see Iron Man fly by and knock into Thor, sending him flying off the mountain. She sighed, releasing Loki. "Stay put. If you go anywhere, I will make you regret it."

"I have no doubt."

She took out her sword and jumped off the mountain ledge. Her feet landed soundly on the ground, cracking the earth on impact. Thor was picking himself up and Tony was standing a few feet away, the Iron Man mask gone to reveal his face.

"Honestly, boys, between you two and Loki, I'm never going to get a vacation."

"Sister, do you know this metal man?" Thor shouted at her.

Tony stared back at her with wide eyes. "How many brothers do you have, Wheaton?" She said only the two. "Did you tell him that Reindeer Games is our prisoner?"

She said yes. "Loki is our brother, and therefore he is the prisoner of Asgard." Thor told Tony. "I will take him back to Asgard and he will face justice there."

Tony's gaze flitted between the two of them. "Once he gives up the Tesseract, he can go wherever the hell you want to take him." Tony told Thor. "Keep out of our way until then."

His face mask covered his face again and he turned to walk away. She let out a breath and turned to explain to Thor what Tony meant. Mjolnir was in his grip. She opened her mouth to speak and he tossed the hammer through the air. The war hammer flew through the air and knocked into Tony, sending him through a tree.

She heard laughter and looked up. Loki was standing on the edge of the ledge, watching them with a smile. Thor called Mjolnir back. Tony shot at him with a blast of energy that put Thor on his ass. He flew forward and threw Thor into a close by tree. Thor pulled himself to his knees. He lifted Mjolnir into the air. A bolt of lightning struck down and hit the hammer. He pointed the hammer to Tony and the lightning redirected, hitting Tony in the chest.

It only worsened the fight. The two of them went at each other, grappling and fighting in the air. She watched them with a bored expression. Thor liked a fight and Tony had a little too big an ego.

"You just gonna stand there or do something?" A new voice said from behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder. Steve was standing behind her, shield at the ready. "By all means." She extended her arm forward.

He shook his head, running forward. He leapt onto a fallen tree. He threw his shield through the air and it hit both Tony and Thor before going back to him. "I think that's enough, fellas." He looked right at Thor. "Son, what's your plan here?" Thor said he came to stop Loki's plans. "Great. Put the hammer down and we can talk."

"Not a good call!" Tony shouted. "Dude loves the hammer!"

Thor smacked Tony across the face, sending him flying. "Put the hammer down?" He asked. He jumped into the air and went for Steve. He brought the hammer down as Steve put the shield up to block the hit.

A shockwave went through the air, knocking her to the ground. She sat up, looking across the clearing. Steve and Tony were lying next to each other, Thor standing close to her. She got to her feet, brushing the dirt off her suit. "You're coming with us." She told Thor.

"But-."

"Don't." She held up a hand. "We're taking Loki in and you can have him once he gives up the Tesseract. This is non-negotiable, do you understand?" Begrudgingly, Thor picked up his hammer. He slung it over his shoulder. She motioned for him to get Loki. "Now that your pissing contest is over, maybe we can get something done."


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long night. Too much playing referee and not enough fighting on her part. At least they had captured Loki. Now all they had to do was get him to talk.

Her shower had done her a lot of good. The silence had allowed her plenty of time to think. Loki needed to tell them where the Tesseract was, and he wouldn't do that unprompted. They would have to barter, but someone had to be smarter than him. He was the god of tricks and mischief, they couldn't go in unaware.

She changed clothes, putting on a fresh suit. The Asgardian one was lying on her bed, the sword next to it. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and left her bunk. Everyone was congregated in the briefing room. The viewing screens were black. Thor was standing off to himself while everyone else was sitting. Their faces were grim, bleak.

"Who died?" She asked, shutting the door. Banner looked up from the table. "Kidding. Kind of."

Thor turned his head, looking at her. The torn look on his face softened as he pulled her in for a hug. "It has been too long." She said it had only been two years. "And how long has Loki been here?" He pulled away, crossing his arms back over his chest.

"Few days. What do you know?"

He heaved a sigh and that was when she knew it was more complicated than she had originally believed. "He is using an army, one of an origin I do not know. The Chitauri." She shook her head, never having heard of them. "The exchange is Earth and the Tesseract. The Chitauri army will surrender Midgard to Loki and he will give them the Tesseract."

"Are you seriously saying an alien army is coming?" Steve asked. "Real aliens, from outer space?"

Thor nodded, saying that was correct. But the Chitauri were not aliens, just from another world. "That's why he needed the iridium that he stole." Banner brought up. "He needs it to build another portal to bring the Chitauri through. And he needed Dr. Selvig to do it."

Thor's eyebrows shot up. He repeated that Loki had taken Dr. Selvig. Banner said that was correct, Selvig was an extremely smart astrophysicist. "We are friends, I know him." Thor told him.

Nat sat up straighter. "He has Dr. Selvig and one of our team under some mind control or something." She said.

Steve asked why Loki would have let them take him. He hadn't put up much of a fight. Banner said Loki wasn't the main issue. He was crazy. Thor's face twisted in anger. "Watch your tongue, mortal. Loki is our brother." He motioned between himself and Rosalie. Nat said that Loki was responsible for the death of over eighty people in forty-eight hours. "He is adopted." Thor amended.

"So, what exactly is the iridium for? Just to build the portal?" Steve asked them.

Rose told him that iridium worked as a stabilizing agent. Tony walked into the briefing room. "You're absolutely correct, Agent Wheaton." He told her. "And it means, Romanoff, the portal won't collapse in like it did the last time." He told Thor that he didn't hold a grudge against him and he liked the hammer. "The iridium will also keep the portal open for as long as he wants it open and get as big as he lets it." He covered his eye, spinning around and asking how Fury managed to see everything.

Agent Hill said that Fury turned around to see what he couldn't. Tony put his hand on Fury's desk. He explained that any other raw materials Loki would need Agent Barton could access easily. They just lacked a source of power with a high enough density to open the portal.

Steve asked what kind of power source was needed. Tony and Banner went in through the science specifics. Rose tugged on Thor's arm, pulling him away. "We can't question him." She whispered. "We've never been very good at his games and he'll be expecting us."

Thor nodded thoughtfully. "What do you suggest?"

She glanced back, her eyes landing on Nat. "Another liar." She looked back at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Is it true? Did Odin have to use dark energy to send you here?" If he had, it would have taken a lot of it. It was no easy feat, sending someone to another world.

He said that didn't matter, he was there and that was most important. "Speaking of, how did you get here? I saw you fall, and I thought you died." There was a silent _again_ that she saw in his eyes. "And Loki…"

"I can't speak for what happened to him. All I know is that I fell off the Bridge and I woke up here." She told him. "He could have ended up anywhere." Thor said that was what he was afraid of.

* * *

It had just been a routine check of the aircraft. It wasn't supposed to take more than ten minutes. But her mind had wandered, and she had ended up standing in front of an office with a closed door and blacked out lights.

She ran her fingers over the nameplate on the door, tracing over the engraved words.

"Did you know him?" A voice asked.

Rose jerked her hand back and looked up. Steve was standing across from her, still in his Captain America suit. "What?" She blinked.

He nodded his head towards the door. "Dr. Wheaton. Did you know him or was it just a coincidence you shared a last name?" She nodded, saying she and Wheaton had been close. "Agent Coulson said he was a good man. A great doctor."

She opened her mouth and then clamped it shut. _The best of men_, she wanted to correct him. She wanted to chastise Coulson for reducing Liam Wheaton to a man and a doctor when he was so much more. She knew better, though. Steve had never met him, and Coulson hadn't been close enough to him to say anything substantially heartfelt.

"Agent Wheaton?"

Quietly, she apologized. "I've never lost anyone before. Only myself. I don't…I'm not sure how to deal with it." She knew that when most people died, there was some kind of funeral or memorial service that allowed loved ones to say good-bye, especially if they hadn't gotten the chance to.

But funerals, most of the time, required a body. And they didn't have one. Dr. Wheaton had gone down with the facility when it collapsed in on itself. And the area was too unstable to search. Anyone missing or lost was considered dead.

"There's not really a set way, if I'm going to be honest with you. You just keep on going and one day, it doesn't hurt as bad." He told her. "Time is really the only thing that helps. Time and venting."

She sighed, realizing who she was talking to. The man had gone into the ice in the forties. Everyone he had known was dead or about to die. "God, I probably sound awful, don't I? Complaining about losing one person to someone who lost _everyone_."

He gave her a soft smile, shaking his head. "I made a choice, Agent. Crash the _Valkyrie_ into the Arctic or let a whole bunch of people die. I chose to lose everyone. You didn't choose for him to die."

A beat passed, the two of them looking at each other awkwardly. Rose looked past him down the hall. He had been coming from the bunk level. "Where were you headed?" She asked.

His cheeks lit up with a light pink. "Oh, uh. I think I got turned around. I was looking for Stark and Banner."

She smiled at him, shaking her head softly. "Two levels off. This is the office level." She told him. "I'll take you." She motioned back to the part of the hall behind her.

The two walked towards the elevator. "So, Loki is really your brother?" He asked as they stepped in the elevator. "And Thor?"

"Mhmm." She glanced over, catching the confused look on his face. "It's a really long story and if I told you everything right now, your brain would probably explode."

The rest of the elevator ride was quiet. The doors slid open and he let her walk out first. He followed her to the lab where Stark and Banner were studying the scepter Loki had been using. Banner was using some sort of device to scan over the scepter and Tony was looking at several monitors. The two were talking animatedly and Tony reached over, poking Banner with something.

"Ow, what the heck?" Banner grimaced, rubbing over the place.

Tony looked surprised. Steve almost shoved in front of her, an annoyed look on his face. "Stark, are you crazy?" He asked. Tony admitted that he was just checking to make sure Banner could control himself. Just a little joke, he assured them all.

"The safety of everyone on this ship is not a joke, Stark. You should be focusing on the problem at hand, not testing Dr. Banner's limits." Steve reprimanded. She wondered if he was using his Captain-voice.

Tony said that the problem at hand was whatever secrets Fury was hiding from all of them. Tony said it wouldn't be surprising if there was more to the story. Fury was the original spy. "Even if you don't have all the facts, Fury is telling you what is most important. Don't go digging around. You might not like what you find." Rose warned Tony. "Keep working on that scepter. We need to find Barton and Selvig."

Tony offered her a blueberry from a bag, and she declined. "Are you so blinded by faith and loyalty that you won't even think of questioning what he's hiding?" He asked.

She shook her head. Her fingers twitched at her sides. "I'm blinded by the fact that my brother is trying to start a war and instead of focusing on your task, you're decrypting our files." Tony's mouth twitched. "I may not be from here, Stark, but I'm not stupid. Now, get back to work."

She turned, nodding once at Steve before leaving the lab. Behind her, she could hear Steve chastising Tony.

* * *

"They don't trust you." She eyed Fury from across his desk. "Stark, especially. And I have a feeling he's going to turn the others against you."

Fury wore an amused expression. "Stark has never trusted me. And as for the others, I don't care as long as they secure the Tesseract." He told her. "How concerned are you about this?"

She shrugged, picking up Loki's file. It was thin, only consisting of a few blurred photos and a brief breakdown of the incident at the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility. "I don't think Stark will have any luck convincing me. Or Romanoff for that matter. He and Rogers seem to operate on different ends of the spectrum, so we're most likely good there. But Banner…"

"Don't worry about Dr. Banner. Something tells me he's not here for the long game. He'll be gone as soon as we secure the Tesseract."

She nodded, putting the file back on the desk. "You aren't worried they don't trust you?"

He said no. "They don't have to trust me. They just need to follow orders." She said that seemed a little blind-sighted. The corners of her lips turned up at his stern expression. "Well, do you trust me?" He asked.

"Of course."

"Then I see no problems. Why don't you go check on your brother?"

She laughed shortly. "Which one?"

* * *

"Bilchsteim? You don't have those here?" She heard Thor ask Coulson as she walked into the briefing room. "They are large, scales and antlers."

She caught the hesitant look on Coulson's face. He had absolutely no idea what Thor was talking about.

"Thor, we don't have Bilchsteim here on Midgard." She told him. "Which is a very good thing." She turned to Coulson. "They smell terrible and they're known to destroy everything that has the misfortune of being in their way."

Coulson made a disgruntled face and said he was glad they didn't exist on Earth. Thor made his way over to the wall-to-floor window. Below them, the ocean was sparkling and blue. The world seemed to stretch out forever.

"Little sister, do you remember when I first came to Midgard?" He asked. He pressed his hand against the glass.

"How could I forget?" She smiled teasingly. "You caused a whole mess down in New Mexico that we had to clean up."

The word _mess_ was a severe understatement. Convincing the locals that it hadn't been an extraterrestrial attack was had probably been the job of the decade. Until Loki showed back up and stole the Tesseract. And killed Dr. Wheaton.

She sucked in a breath at the sharpened memory of him. When all this was over, she was going to kick Loki's self-pitying ass all the way to Svartalfheim.

"I brought our brother here. My pride and stupidity brought Loki's wrath to Earth. And now the people here will pay the price again." He said softly. He turned back to look at her. "My courtship with war has once again cost the ultimate price."

"Yours isn't the only one." Rose murmured. "We were both reckless once and now we're paying for it."

At the brisk sound of footsteps, she turned her head. Fury was walking into the briefing room, hands behind his back. "Enough of the touching childhood memories, you two." Ah, the no-nonsense voice. Her most constant companion the past few years. "Can we force Loki to give us the Tesseract back? Or at least tell us where it is?"

"Loki's need for vengeance is insatiable." Thor told him. "There may be a way, but it is unknown to me."

Rosalie grimaced. "It would help if we knew where he's been the past year." He could have been anywhere. Well, anywhere except Asgard. He could've been on Earth and she would have never known. His mind was too far warped to see any kind of reason at the moment. They were going to have to play hard ball.

Her favorite.

"What do you want us to do, sir?" She turned her full attention to Fury. "I could beat it out of him. Or at least try."

Thor shook his head. "He'd sooner die than give up that information. We both know that."

"Then it stands," Fury said stoutly, "what are the two of prepared to do?"

The two siblings looked between each other. Thor had always been the closer to Loki of the two. A brotherly bond that was hard-broken. They had years with each other from before her time. Thor wasn't so willing to do what needed to be done. He didn't have the attachment to Midgard that she did.

"He's your prisoner." Thor stated. "He cannot fight you whilst you have him locked in a cage."

Fury crossed his arms over his shoulders. The discreet look he gave Rose was all she needed. Her nod of affirmation was imperceptible to everyone but the director himself. "If he's a prisoner, then why do I feel like he's exactly where he wants to be?"

Rose pressed her lips together. "I'll make him talk." She promised. "All I need is a few minutes alone with him."

"Nola-." Thor started.

She held up a hand. "You had your turn, Thor. Let me have mine."

* * *

She was on her way to the holding cell. She hadn't imagined Nat would take long to unwind whatever riddles Loki threw at her. And she, much to her pleasure, had been correct. Nat had informed them that Loki wanted to bring the Hulk out to play.

"Change of plans, brother of mine." She muttered as she stood outside the doors to the room the cell was in. The cell had been made for Dr. Banner, in case his friend made an appearance. Based on information given, that was now a possibility. And she was not too keen on meeting the big green guy so high up in the air.

She spun on her heel and made her way back towards the lab Stark and Banner were working in. Her fingers twitched at her sides. The itch for a fight was relentless. Just a few minutes inside that cell with her brother and she would have gotten all the information needed and more.

Tension was pouring out of the lab by the time she arrived. Captain Rogers had joined Stark, Banner, and Fury. Nat and Thor were also there. No one looked particularly pleased. Maybe Fury had been right to assume Loki was the only one who actually wanted to be on board. Which was the worst-case scenario.

Stark had something pulled up on the screen of his computer. **Phase Two**. On one of the emptier tables, there was an assault rifle. HYDRA grade.

"Looks like I'm late to the party." She stepped into the lab.

No one gave her a welcoming look.

"Did you know about this?" Tony jabbed his finger at the screen. "Are you in on Fearless Leader's plans?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You're so stuck up his ass, Wheaton. Did you know that S.H.I.E.L.D. was using the Tesseract to create weapons?"

"Stark," she said slowly, stepping towards him, "you might want to watch how you speak to me. I'd hate to see that big brain of yours turned into a pile of dust on the floor." Her hands flexed at her sides.

"Is that a threat?" Tony laughed. "Are you actually threatening me?"

"It sure as hell isn't a promise."

The promise of something larger was bubbling inside of her. The welling up of anger and anticipation. A fight. Chaos. She always knew when it was coming. The raising of the hairs on the back of her neck, the tingle that shot down her spine. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't her favorite feeling.

"Agent Wheaton."

It wasn't Fury's voice that drew her back. It wasn't even Nat's. But his. Captain Rogers. She tensed, half-turning her head to make eye contact.

"Why don't you answer the question? Did you know about the weapons?" His approach was a lot calmer than Tony's had been. He spoke in such an assuring way. It helped to douse the fire inside her, but it didn't quit the feeling of a fight coming on.

She whetted over her bottom lip. "Since we're playing honesty hour, yes. I knew. It was my idea."

No one seemed to like her answer very much.

"It was a necessary precaution after last year's incident." Fury took over. "We realized we weren't alone in this world and we are seriously outmatched."

"Sister, you realize what you've done?" Thor asked her. "What this means?"

She nodded tersely. Steve asked what he was talking about. "The energy from the Tesseract, from our use of it, is what caught Loki's attention. But not just his. All across the Nine Realms, any enemies are now aware that Midgard is prepared for a more advanced form of war."

"More advanced?" Steve repeated.

"It was the only way." She told Thor. "I couldn't protect them on my own." She was strong, but not that strong.

That was when the argument broke out. Petty comments and snide remarks shot from everywhere and to everyone. The weapons, New Mexico, the watch list. It was bubbling over and the chaos inside her was relishing in it.

Her skin was on fire. She closed her eyes, reveling in the energy.

"How can you ask for control when you dance around the flames of chaos?" Thor was shouting.

Chaos. Oh, she loved that.

"We're not a team and never will be." Banner countered. "We're a bunch of chemicals put together to create chaos. A bomb waiting to explode."

"Back away, Dr. Banner." Fury instructed him.

Tony laughed. "Ah, let him blow off some steam."

The feeling of pure and total chaos, destruction in its base form, continued to bubble over inside her. An argument between Captain Rogers and Stark was muffled in her ears. Dr. Banner was shouting something at Fury and Nat.

_Oh, God, this was good._

She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so alive.

"Put down the scepter, Dr. Banner."

Her eyes flashed open. Dr. Banner had Loki's scepter in his hand. The gemstone inside was glowing a bright blue. So, it recognized the fun of chaos too…

The computer began to beep loudly. She watched him lay the scepter down.

"You found the Tesseract?" Thor asked Tony. Tony said he'd go to get it, he'd be faster alone. "No, it is of Asgard. Nola and I will retrieve it."

Something wasn't wholly right. The fight inside the lab had died down, but the fire hadn't. "Wait." She whispered.

Tony went to walk out the door and Captain Rogers blocked the exit. "There's no way you're going alone."

"Wanna try and stop me?"

"Put the suit on and I will."

"Cap, I'm not scared to beat the hell out of an old guy."

"Get the suit."

"Stop." Rosalie's voice was louder. They all looked at her. "Something is wrong."

"Yeah, no shit, Wheaton." Tony remarked. "Your eyes are gold."

She took a deep breath, fire in her lungs. "Chaos." She warned. "It's coming."

"What does that even-?"

Captain Roger's words were cut short as the entire helicarrier violently shifted. Rose fell to her feet, head banging against one of the tables.

"Stark, suit!" Captain Rogers ordered. He helped Tony out of the lab.

Rose got to her feet. There was a huge hole in the floor. Nat and Dr. Banner were missing. Fury was getting to his feet and Thor was already on his. She could hear Agent Hill shouting instructions in her ear. An explosion. Engine three was out. One more and they'd be out of the air. Fury ordered Coulson to lock down the detention section and then head to the armory.

"Loki." She growled.

She started towards the door and Fury grabbed her elbow. "Agent, this is all hands-on deck."

"Exactly. My hands need to be securing my brother in that cell. They're here for him. You want him to get away?" Fury released her. "That's what I thought." She pressed a hand to her ear. "Coulson, do not secure that room until I'm in it."

"Understood. Might wanna get there soon, Agent Wheaton."

No problem there. There wouldn't be too many men coming for Loki. Maybe she wouldn't encounter any of them. But then where was the fun in that?

She ran through the helicarrier. Agents were scrambling everywhere. Mechanics off to fix the engines, engineers off to assess the damage. She could still hear Hill barking orders. And then, the noise. A loud, rumbling, and animalistic roar.

"Oh, _hell_." She muttered.

The big green guy was out and about. Through the comms system, Fury was shouting to make sure the ship was over the water. Tony and Captain Rogers were assessing how to fix the engine system. Nat, where was she?

"Nat, you good?" She pressed down on the piece in her ear. The system crackled. She waited a beat for a response. "Agent Romanoff?" Nothing.

This was all going to Hell in a handbasket. Not even a nice handbasket, either. A super shitty one that was quickly falling apart.

"Wheaton?" Coulson's voice rang out.

"Almost there." The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Hmm, a fight.

She skidded to a stop as the man stepped into her view. He was easily the size of Thor. Stocky and cocky. Her favorite. Two guns, neither of them out for use. This would be quick. He pounced and she did too. She barreled into him and knocked him down to the ground. She straddled his chest and landed three strong punches to his jaw.

She hopped up and wiped her hands together. "Disappointing." She muttered.

The door to the detention section was just around the corner. Coulson was waiting for her outside of them. He asked if she got held up and she smiled wryly in return. He pushed the door open and let her in first.

"Head to the armory and secure the exit." She ordered him. "I'll watch my brother."

Loki was standing in the cell, arms crossed, face slighted in anticipation. He looked up from the floor with a smile. "There she is. My favorite sister."

"I'm your only sister and I'm not here for small talk."

His smile faded quickly. "No, you sent the former assassin for that." He spat. "When did you decide you didn't like the dirty work anymore?"

"I grew tired of losing your games."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You never were a good loser. Neither one of you."

"What can I say?" She sighed. "I like winning."

Loki stiffened. He leveled his gaze with hers. "You won't win this one. No amount of teamwork or pride can stop what we're bringing."

_We_.

She stepped closer to the cell and pressed a hand against the glass. "Loki." She whispered. "You're underestimating the power I have. I could tear your entire army of Chitauri soldiers to shreds. Or turn them to ash completely with one touch." Her reminded was anything but gentle. Her power was extensive. It went far beyond lightning strikes and magic tricks. "You know how I get when I'm upset."

The anger was uncontrollable. The chaos voracious. A fight would be needed, and it would always be found. The power, however, could be stifled a little. Dr. Wheaton's braces proved still to limit the amount she could use. And kept her from passing out. Without them, though…

"You'd do best to remember what the Allfather told you."

He grinned. Wolfish, predatory. The smile of someone with an upper hand. "Chaos brings death, little sister. I wouldn't forget it if I were you."

She slammed her fist against the cell. "I'm tired of your riddles, Loki. Tell me where the Tesseract is. And tell me who you're taking orders from."

His eyes widened. He took a step back. "_I_ am the king!" He shouted. "There is no one above me! _My_ army comes and it will defeat you!"

She folded her arms over her chest as she stared back at him. "You said we, Loki. The army _we're_ sending. So, who is it? Tell me and I'll be lenient. Tell me what I want to know."

He laughed quietly, shaking his head. The look he gave her was pitying. "You may grant leniency, but you are not the King of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms."

She said that Odin could be persuaded. Especially if she and their mother were involved.

He was about to answer when the ship jerked to the side. Rose stumbled, falling against the glass of the holding cell. She steadied herself and checked Loki. He was rising to his feet. She narrowed her eyes at him as he gave her an amused smile.

"Fury?" She tapped on her ear. "It's Wheaton."

"How's the prisoner?" He replied gruffly.

She reported that he was still contained. "What the hell is going on?" She asked him.

"Barton's our burglar." He said. "Took out the systems. Engine one is down, and he's headed your way. Be ready."

She glanced back at the door. Coulson was still gone. She could take Clint. They'd sparred hundreds of times and she always kicked his ass.

"This is Romanoff." Nat's voice was unsteady. "I'll take care of him."

Rose confirmed. She'd still be on high alert. Just in case he managed to do the impossible and get past Nat.

Something whirred and she whipped up. The door to the cell was opening. Damn, the systems. Barton's system crash left the doors open. Loki watched as the door slid open slowly. Their eyes met and she instantly recognized the spark in his eyes.

"Don't you dare." She warned. "Come out and I'll beat you back in."

His lip curled up into a smirk. "Sister, you make a compelling argument. Too bad you won't get the chance." He charged, knocking into her.

She fell against the hard floor. He picked her up as if she were a doll and tossed her into the control panel.

Anger flooded through her. Rose got to her feet, a little light-headed and ready to beat him bloody. He stood next to the open door and winked at her. The door to the detention section flew open and Thor charged in.

Loki was back in the cell, leisurely walking towards the door. "NO!" Thor shouted, running towards him.

"Thor, don't!" She yelled, rushing towards him.

An action that came too late. By the time he realized it was a trick, the door to the cell had already locked shut. Loki stepped into his view, grinning wickedly. "A millennium has gone by and you're still falling for that."

Rose grabbed Loki by the collar. "Let. Him. Out."

He pushed her away. "My time has come, Nola. I must bid you farewell."

She seized the ends of his hair and slammed him against the cell. She pressed him further into it, applying pressure to his neck. "Let him out or I snap your neck like a baby bird."

He laughed breathily. "Do that and you'll never know what your precious doctor's last words were."

She stiffened. Dr. Wheaton. Her fingers tightened. "Loki."

"He recognized me. And then, I took him. Took his mind, I should say. And you know, Nola, if he hadn't been so slow, he could have lived."

She squeezed her eyes shut. He had been like Clint and Dr. Selvig before he died. Mind-warped and under the spell of the scepter. Perhaps if he hadn't been, he would have lived.

"And the most touching thing of all, his last thoughts were of you. You, sweet sister."

Her hand fell from his neck. Her. Of all the things in the world, Dr. Wheaton's last thoughts were about her. Her eyes blinked open.

"Your surplus of sentiment sickens me." Loki snarled. He punched her, sending her reeling back into the wall.

Parts of the wall crumpled around her impact and she hit the floor. As she lifted her head, Thor slammed Mjolnir against the wall of the cell. The room shook. The glass wall, however, barely cracked. Loki smiled and made his way to the control panel.

"I think we should test the theory that we're immortal, hmm?" He asked, sliding a hand over the controls. "What do you say, Nola? How breakable is our brother?"

Something bright and blue blasted through the air in front of Loki's face. Rose peeled herself to her feet. Coulson was standing in front of the doors, a bazooka-like gun in his hands.

"Move away from the controls." He ordered Loki. Her brother backed away, eyeing his new opponent. Sizing him up.

She let herself take a short breath. Her chest hurt and her head was killing her.

"Cool, huh?" Coulson maneuvered the weapon. "Wanna find out what it does?" He asked.

And then, there was a blade through his chest.

She couldn't breathe. Couldn't even move. Loki backed away from him and let Coulson fall to the floor. The weapon fell in his lap. She stood frozen in her spot as Loki walked back to the control panel. The hatch below the cell spiraled open. The world spread out below them.

She found it in herself to run to Coulson's side. She dropped down on her knees. "Coulson." She whispered, pressing down on the wound. "Hey, keep those eyes open, will ya?"

She knew it, knew by just looking at him, there wasn't a chance in hell. She swallowed and tried to smile. She didn't even bother looking away when Loki pressed down on the button that sent Thor dropping out into the wide air. Loki closed the hatch back.

"Coulson," she patted his cheek, "eyes on me."

His gaze kept drifting over to Loki. She'd be damned if his last sight was the man who killed him. "You'll lose." He rasped.

Loki arched an eyebrow thoughtfully. "You think so?"

Her lip curled up. She'd let him. Let him go so when the time came, she could bring him within an inch of his life and deliver him to the Allfather. Leniency and mercy were no longer cards on the table. He would rot.

"Yes." Coulson said. "It's your nature to lose."

Loki was amused by the idea of his loss. He looked around the room before he settled his eyes back on them. "I cannot seem to find the variables for my loss in this situation. Your ship plummets from the air and your heroes are gone. All that you are left with is my sister, who has lost her wits over a doctor long gone. I think I will win."

Phil shook his head sternly. "You have no conviction."

Loki was in the process of answering when Phil fired the weapon. The blast sent Loki through the wall across from them. Rose raised her eyebrows, impressed.

"Neat." Phil breathed.

She agreed. She pressed down harder on the wound. "This is Wheaton. I need med ASAP to the detention section. We have an agent down, I repeat, agent down!" She looked down at him.

His eyes fluttered. "He'd be proud of you, Wheaton. He was proud of you."

She chewed on the end of her tongue. "Stop talking. Save your energy." She glanced back as the doors to the room opened. Fury came running in. "We need med down here." She told him.

He said they were coming as fast as possible. "Eyes open, Agent. That's an order." Fury instructed.

Coulson, slowly, shook his head. The blood, no matter how much pressure she applied, wasn't stopping. It kept pumping out under her hand and through the small spaces between her fingers. Blood, not just any blood. Phil's blood. "Time to clock out." He muttered.

"No!" Rose said sharply. "Phil, you are not dying on me."

He half-smiled up at her. "You called me Phil."

"That's your name." She reminded him. "Keep your eyes open. Med is coming, they'll be here soon."

He leaned his head against the wall. It lolled to the side. She looked up at Fury. There was no avoiding what was to come. Phil was going to die. She knew that. She did. But she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't accept that Phil, someone who was always so nice and good and yes, maybe a little odd at times, was going to die. That he was in the process of being killed. And it was a casualty. If he hadn't come in, he would have been alive.

"I'll be okay." He whispered. "You need something to…you all needed…"

She felt it happen. The last movement of his chest, the last breath leave his body. And she saw the glassed look in his eyes. He was gone.

Rose sat back and let her hand fall. It was colored red with his blood. Her eyes burned with white-hot tears. The paramedic team arrived. Fury helped her to her feet as they took over. It only took seconds for them to confirm what she already knew. He was gone.

"Agent Coulson is down." Fury reported.

She shoved away from him. He reached and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't touch me!" She shouted at him.

"Agent Wheaton-."

"Don't!" She screamed, flinging her arm towards him. A blast of energy shot from her movement and sent him stumbling backwards. "Just…Just don't."

The paramedics were staring at her. Fury watched her, regaining his balance, eyes downturned. She let her eyes wander over Phil. She closed her eyes for a beat before opening them again. She exhaled deeply.

"It's time to end this."


	6. Chapter 6

Rosalie didn't bother cleaning up. Blood stained her hands and parts of her suit. Slowly, the aches were beginning to go away. The rage, however, that, she feared was there to stay. And knowing her, that probably wasn't a good thing. The chaos fed on the anger. Like a starving wolf that hadn't fed in weeks.

She walked into the briefing room, scraping flecks of blood from under her fingernails. Stark and Rogers were seated at the conference table. Fury stood at the head, arms folded over his chest. As she slid the door shut, Rogers looked back at her.

His eyes flitted from her hands to her face. "Agent Wheaton." He greeted softly.

She sat in the chair on his right and got comfortable. Stark sat across from her. "You all look like hell." She commented.

"You're one to talk." Tony muttered. "Get beat up on the school playground?"

She narrowed her eyes. God, he was really working her nerves. "Stark, as much as I dislike you on the regular basis, I am really not in the mood right now. Zip it before I make you." She snapped at him.

Another wise crack and his jaw would be broken.

"Here." Fury walked down to their end of the table. He threw down a bloodied set of trading cards. Images of a vintage Captain America pictured the cards. Her heart constricted in her chest. Phil's card. "Found these in Coulson's jacket." Fury told them. "Looks like he never got 'em signed like he wanted."

Rogers picked the set up and flipped through them.

"What's the plan?" Rose asked him. "What are we going to do?"

He raised his eyebrows in question. The eyepatch lifted a little in the movement. "We're floating right now, that's all I got for you. Everything's dead on the ship. No comms system. We can't track down the cube, or even Banner and Thor." She sighed as he took a breath. She leaned her head against the back of the seat. "I'll lay it all out. .E.L.D. planned to use the Tesseract to build weapons. That was my Plan B, Wheaton knows it. I had an idea, a dream if you want. Stark, you know what I mean when I say the _Avengers Initiative_." Stark's eyes lifted from the table. "It was my plan to build a team. Individuals who, alone, were great. But together they could be something remarkable. Protect our world and fight the battles too big for us. And I'll tell you all, Phil Coulson still believed in that dream when. he did. He believed in heroes."

"Fury," she rolled her neck and looked back at him, eyes steel but tired, "that's great and all." Rose unfolded her arms and sat forward. She pressed her hands against her knees. "But I need to know what the hell our plan is."

"What plan would that be?" He inquired.

Heat flamed over her skin. "How we're going to locate Dr. Banner and Thor. How we're going to find Loki and get the Tesseract back before he calls down an unholy army of Chitauri soldiers to overrun this world. Avenging Phil's death. That damn plan!"

"Agent Wheaton, in all honesty," he paused, "I have nothing for you. No plan, no call to action. Nothing."

She licked over her bottom lip and bit back the rude comment that lay on the tip of her tongue. _No plan_. Nothing at all. "Nothing." She repeated duly.

He shook his head. "It's over, Wheaton."

Over? No, no, no. It wasn't over. It couldn't be over. They didn't lose. _She_ didn't lose. That was unacceptable. Especially when Phil's life had been given. She wouldn't let it be lost in vain. Not his, not Dr. Wheaton's. They didn't get to just die and it have been for nothing.

She slammed her fist against the table. Both Rogers and Stark flinched at the sudden outburst of anger. A long crack split down the table, but the surface remained upright. "That's not good enough for me." She snarled. "_Nothing_ isn't going to work for me." Fury turned his back to her. Her top lip curled up as her stomach boiled. "Don't you dare walk away from me!" But he was already leaving the room.

Her back snapped up as the door fell back to a close. She watched him walk away and disappear down the hall. A short breath left her nose and she pressed her palms flat on the table, putting down all her weight there.

"On that note…" Stark mumbled.

Rose didn't bother to watch him leave.

"Agent-."

Slowly, she lifted her head just barely so that she and Rogers were making eye contact. She huffed a breath. "I'll make sure you get home as soon as possible, Captain Rogers. Brooklyn, right?" Vague enough. He probably didn't need to know she knew his exact address.

He motioned for her to sit down. Confused, she sat back down in her seat. He leaned forward and laid his forearms on top of the table. "Let's talk."

Oh, she didn't like that tone of voice. That was what she recognized as a lecture voice. "Look, Cap- can I call you Cap?" He blinked back at her. Cap it was. "I get you're upset about the weapons and the secrets, but we do what we have to in order to protect this world and-." He was just _staring_ at her. Uneasiness crawled over her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I didn't mean…when I said…I thought maybe we could talk about Coul-Phil."

Phil.

"Why would we-you-I-?" She blinked several times, looking away from him. She took a deep breath before looking after him. "Why would we talk about Phil? He's dead."

Not just dead. Murdered. By her brother. Oh, how small the world was.

Rogers scratched at the corner of his eye. His eyes, a brilliant shade of blue, looked back at her. "When I went in the ice, I got the chance to say good-bye. I was on the radio with her and we both knew I had to go down." His voice broke as he spoke the words. "Anyway, the point is that I know what you're going through. You lost Phil and I lost Peggy."

Peggy. As in Peggy Carter, one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D. An icon to women everywhere. Peggy's niece was a new member of the agency, and a promising one at that. Fresh from the Academy and ready to kick ass.

"I-Cap, what're we talking about here? Weren't you and Agent Carter kind of a thing…?" Rose asked. She was growing more and more uncomfortable the longer the conversation went on.

He nodded. "Guess you could say that. I mean, we only kissed once, but I was sure sweet on her."

Of all the people he had lost when he went down…or hell, even Sergeant Barnes who had been lost on a mission gone wrong. Come to think of it, that would have been the better analogy for him to go with. Friends lost on missions gone bad. So why the hell was he rambling about Peggy Carter?

"As much as I appreciate this heart-to-heart we're having, I'm not connecting the dots. How is you losing your girlfriend or whatever you want to call her similar to me losing Phil?" Losing seemed like such a flimsy word to use. It didn't quite encompass the gravity of the ordeal. The blood and the feel of his heart stilling under her hands.

"Weren't you two…?" He frowned. She stared back at him, waiting for his words. "You and Agent Coulson…? Did you two…fondue?"

Now what the hell did _that_ mean? It had a certain connotation from the way he said it that made her never want to hear the word again.

Rogers sighed. "I was under the impression that you and Agent Coulson were together."

Oh, dear Allfather.

She smiled back at him. Instantly, the misconception reminded her of all the not-so-subtle hints Dr. Wheaton had thrown her way. _Phil's nice. Coulson's a real good guy. Smart one, that Agent Coulson. Doesn't look too shabby in a suit. Good-humored_.

"We were friends. He was one of the first friends I made when I woke up here." She told him. "Phil was my friend and Loki killed him. He took Phil and he took Dr. Wheaton and-." She broke off, clenching her jaw. Her hands curled into fists. "Nothing isn't good enough for me. I have never liked losing, but I _hate_ losing to my brothers."

Rogers reached out and carefully rested his hand over top her fist. She didn't pull back at the initial gesture. He curled his hand around hers. "Then let's do something about it."

Her eyes widened. "You're serious?"

"'Course I am. I'm not one to give up a fight and I know you aren't either." She definitely wasn't. She had started many more fights than she had ever finished. "And I think I know someone else around here with the same mindset…"

She knew exactly who he meant.

* * *

Tony Stark was where she had thought he would be. Blood wiped clean from her hands and hair pulled up into a taut ponytail, she was refreshed and ready. Ready for a fight. And for a win. Captain Rogers walked next to her.

Stark stood alone in the detention section. His eyes were trained to the floor, face pulled in pensive thought.

"Stark." She called his attention. As he looked up, she caught the roll of his eyes. "Don't worry, I come in peace." She held up her hands. "You will _never_ hear me say this again, so you better listen hard." She warned, stepping to stand close to him. "I'm sorry. I snapped at you a lot earlier and it was rude."

The right corner of his mouth lifted. "I took my apology when you handed Fury's ass to him. Nice job, by the way. The whole 'avenging Phil' card."

"It wasn't a card." She told him.

He said he knew that. "So, you were in here?" He asked, beginning to walk. His eyes traveled to the stain of blood on the wall. "Two of you and he still got away."

She grimaced. "Loki's magic and his cunning aren't really playing a fair fight with my small dosage of chaos power. And I'll admit, I wasn't in my right mind. He doesn't have to use force in a fight. His words are just as powerful."

Rogers stepped in. "We've got a plan. Sort of. More than what Fury's got."

Stark looked back at him. "A plan, huh? What's that? You gonna sing the Star-Spangled Banner to him?"

Rose rolled her eyes. Rogers bit back a remark. It really was hard for the two men to play nice with each other. "Loki has to have a power source to call this army. We need to make a list of-."

Stark cut him off. "It's personal now." Rogers reminded him that it wasn't the point. "Yes. Yes, it is. Think about it. He attacked the ship. He personally attacked all of us. But why would he do that?"

"He can't take us all together. He had to separate us." Rogers answered.

Stark nodded.

Rose crossed her arms over her chest. "When we were children," they both looked over at her, "we would spar together. There were times we would go two-on-one. When Thor and I would fight him, Loki would get flustered. He couldn't take both of us and he barely managed last year. He knew coming into this that fighting against an entire team wouldn't be in his favor."

"Exactly." Stark supported. "But he has to win, doesn't he? To him, beating us means everything. Even more, he wants an audience to watch it happen." Rogers recalled the incident in Stuttgart. Loki forcing a crowd of people to kneel for him. "This has to be bigger than that." Stark continued. "That was a commercial, this has to be a full-length movie. I mean, the dude is a diva if I've ever seen one. He needs the audience, the bouquets and the la-dee-da. He wants a statue, a monument to him, raised up, his name on-." He stopped himself. His eyes widened. "Son of a bitch."

Rose let her arms fall. "Stark?"

"I know where he'll be."

Deep down, the chaos bubbled up.

* * *

It wasn't her bird, but it would do the job. Clint had suggested hers, as it flew a little faster, but she had been adamant. Her quinjet would be nowhere near a battle.

"Glad you're back." Rose clapped his shoulder as she turned to leave the cockpit.

"Wheaton." She turned her head to look back and she hummed, signaling she had heard him. "I'm sorry. About the Doctor and Phil."

She didn't say anything before leaving him to pilot them towards Stark Tower. Rogers and Nat were in the small bay area.

"Your jet is faster." Nat commented.

"It's also my baby and I'm not letting her anywhere near an army of Chitauri."

Rogers stifled a laugh. They both shot him a look. "Sorry. But does everyone get their own quinjet?" He asked with a grin.

"No." Nat told him. "Only Fury's favorite gets special treats." She smirked.

Rose held her tongue. There was no denying the inevitable truth. She got away with a lot. Mouthing off. Disobeying direct (very direct) orders. Going off-plan. She had no doubt broken various dozens of rules in her three years. And she hadn't even done the Academy stint.

"See, she can't argue. She knows I'm right."

Rose threw her hands up. "Not my fault!"

"Nothing ever is." Nat mused. "Except a few crop circles in two different states."

Steve watched with fascinating amusement at their light-hearted banter.

"Okay, I'll take credit for those. And maybe a few fires back on Asgard from my younger days. But that's it!"

"You can start fires too?" Steve interjected. "Is that…How does your power work exactly?"

Nat smiled at him and her eyes slid over to Rose.

Rosalie shrugged. "That's a great question. When I have an answer, I'll get back to you." Nat excused herself to go check their ETA. Rose leaned against the metal wall. "I get this gut feeling when something bad or really big is about to happen. Chaos recognizes chaos and it's like an alarm system inside my body. Which is super helpful in this line of work. It builds up and I'm not always really good at controlling it." She held out her arms and showed him the braces around them. "They're made from iridium. It acts as a stabilizing agent for antiprotons, which in turn, stabilize the amount of my power I can use."

He frowned as he examined the braces. "Why would you want to limit it? Doesn't that seem counteractive?"

"Not for me. If I use too much, it weakens me. I was passing out a lot before Dr. Wheaton made the braces. Not to mention the whole possible death thing."

"The _what_?"

The raw concern that super-ceded the shock made her smile. Steve Rogers was not only cute, but a really nice guy. With pretty blue eyes and the cutest smile she'd ever seen.

"The chaos that's inside of me, it's almost like a life force of its own. Kind of like a soul without a body. We're sharing, we co-exist, things are nice. But it can get really ugly really quick." He asked what she meant. "When I was younger, my father, Odin, told me about the chaos magic. It's an old force, one that picks a host to reside in. It's not Asgardian in nature, no one really knows where it came from. And there's no record of an Asgardian holding it before. Mostly, it chose the Vanir." He stared blankly back at her. _Right, he has no clue what I'm going on about_, she told herself. "The Vanir are another race of people, similar to my brothers and me. They're highly skilled in sorcery and magic, which is why the chaos force kept to them. They could use it without dying. Before the Vanir, the chaos was in Midgard."

"Earth?"

"Yes." She smiled again. He was a quick learner. She liked that. "Midgardians weren't equipped to handle magic such as that. The chaos tore them apart. Burned them from the inside out. And Odin thinks, if I'm not careful, the same thing could happen to me."

"It would kill you?"

She nodded solemnly. She could easily imagine what it would feel like. A fire lit inside her body. Chaos burning through her as it ate away at every particle of her being until there was nothing left but dust. Dust so similar to what she left in her wake. "If I let it control me, it could easily kill me. So, yeah, the braces are a good thing."

"Better not lose them then, huh?"

No, she better not. But she certainly wouldn't mind taking them off and laying a bit of stone-cold vengeance to her brother. Not killing him, but close enough that he would wish he was dead.

"Captain?" He hummed in response he fiddled with his shield. "Thank you, for earlier. The talking, it was nice." She said quietly.

He placed his shield on his back. "You can call me Steve, Agent."

_Steve_. Using his name- his real, given name- seemed rather intimate. Too close for her own comfort, maybe. But she wasn't going to continue to call him Captain either. And she wasn't particularly fond of being referred to as _Agent_ all the time.

"Well," she pushed off the wall and walked over towards him, "only if you'll stop calling me Agent. My friends call me Rose."

His cheeks reddened, turning a soft pink color. "Maybe, uh, when this is all over, we could talk again? If you want, of course."

Surely, he wasn't..._Was he_? In all her thousand or so years, she had never been asked on a date. Or even anything that resembled a date. She definitely didn't count the several dozen attempts Fandral had made towards her. She hardly doubted those were ever serious.

And yet, here was Steve Rogers, Captain America, asking her on what very well seemed like a date. All sweet and blushing. Maybe she was over-analyzing. Maybe he only needed a friend, he hadn't exactly had a lot of stimulating conversation after coming out of the ice. Neither of them belonged in the world they were now in. He belonged to a world long gone and she to a completely different place.

She took too long to respond. By the time she had decided to take him up on the offer (because really, how bad would it be?), Clint was signaling their arrival over the intercom. Rose offered Steve a sympathetic smile.

A sick feeling overtook her. She doubled over, clutching her stomach. Nausea rolled through her body. Steve grabbed her shoulder.

"Rose, what's going on? You okay?" He helped her stand upright.

She inhaled sharply. Not good. They were in bad shape. "They're here." She whispered. "The Chitauri. They're here."

* * *

The jet was, in lack of better wording, screwed. Rose glanced back at it. It was on fire and crash-landed on the street.

"See. This is why I was against bringing Greta." Rose told Nat and Clint. "Because my nutcase of a brother blasted us from the sky!" She threw her gaze up at Stark Tower. There was a bright blue beam shooting up in the sky. A dark portal hung over the tower, allowing the army to travel through. And travel they did.

Loki was up there. Waiting. Calling down and commanding a full-forced Chitauri battalion. Her fingers flexed at her sides. She was so going to kick his ass.

"Greta?" Steve asked her.

She shrugged. "Seemed right."

Overhead, something roared. The sound shook the ground and the buildings around them. A dark mass passed over the ground. The four of them raised their heads to the sky. The sound had come from some metal Chitauri flying beast. Hundreds of Chitauri soldiers dropped down from the beast.

"Fantastic." Rose mumbled.

"Stark," Steve said through his earpiece, "are you seeing what we're seeing?"

Tony confirmed. He asked about whether or not Dr. Banner had made his appearance yet. Steve and Rose looked at one another. Tony reminded them to keep him in the loop. Rose's eyes were glued to Stark Tower.

"Wheaton?" Clint asked.

She blinked and looked back at him. "Secure the city. Take as many Chitauri out as you can." She drew her sword. Steve asked what she planned on doing. "I'm going to close that portal."

Something above caught her eye. Loki was commandeering a flying machine of Chitauri make.

"Don't do something stupid, Wheaton." Clint warned her.

She grinned. "Me?" She gasped. "Wouldn't dream of it." She motioned her sword down the street. "Go. Save some civilians and kick some ass."

Nat and Clint both took off. Steve watched them go and then looked back at her. His shield was fastened around his forearm.

"You might need backup." He said.

_Sweet_, she thought. "I don't." Rose promised. "See you after."

"Rose-."

"Steve-."

"The braces. Don't…be careful, will ya?"

She glanced down at the braces around her wrists. Now that…that was something she hadn't thought of. An idea to lock away in case she needed it. A Plan B.

"You too."

He hesitated before running off. She went the other way, straight towards the tower. She went mostly, to her disappointment, uninterrupted. The full force of the army was sanctioned behind her, not having made their way so far north yet. Or, so she thought.

Several of the Chitauri ran out in front of her. "Oh, good. I thought I was gonna miss out on all the fun." She said with a smile.

The four ran right at her. She ducked as one lunged over her and swung her sword through the legs of the one on her left. She jumped to her feet and turned to face the remaining three. She met them all in a fight. Blocking fired blasts from their weapons and still managing to jab into them.

She paused, standing upright and taking a breather. "Ah, come on." She twirled the end of her sword. "That all you've got?"

One ran for her and she thrusted the sword through its chest. She left it to fall to the ground and she side-kicked the one on her right. The force sent the soldier flying into an abandoned car. The other pounced and she side-stepped to avoid the blow. She grabbed the Chitauri soldier by the back of the neck, applying a little too much pressure. Its neck snapped under her hand and she flung him into the side of a building.

She was having _fun_.

Rose brushed her face off and sighed happily. That had certainly been a nice little kick-around. Now, back to her main goal. The portal. She had started back towards the tower when the hairs on the back of her neck stood. Something was coming up behind her.

She drew to a stop and held out her hand. "_Kaos_." The sword flew into her hand and she gripped it tight before spinning around and shoving it through the Chitauri behind her. "B plus for effort." She muttered, yanking her sword out.

* * *

"Wheaton?" Stark's voice rang out in her ear. "Hiding out on us?"

She stood on the outer area of Stark Tower. The Tesseract was only feet away from her. "Hiding? No. Never."

Several more of the flying beasts flew down from the portal, joined by thousands of soldiers.

"I think now would be a good time for you to join us." He said. "You like fighting."

She snorted. "Little busy up here trying to close the portal."

In her ear, Steve was lashing out orders to the others. He wanted Clint above ground. Tony was working perimeter. He sent Thor to the air. He and Nat would stay on the ground and Banner would…well, he'd do what he did best in his big green state. Smash. "Rose?"

"Give it to me, Cap." She sheathed her sword.

"Keep those braces on."

His concern was touching. Touching and wary. Because she knew the braces had to come off. She looked down at the ground. With eagle-eye vision, she could see him fending of the Chitauri left and right.

Thunder cracked. Lightning struck through the air and flew straight at the portal. Hundreds of soldiers were blown back into space. One of the beasts peeled in half.

"Nice work, brother." She mused. Another beast flew down from the portal. She took out her sword and squinted an eye. "Hey, Stark, how's this for hiding out?" She launched the sword into the air. It flew like a bullet and tore through the beast's head. The beast fell to the ground, taking out soldiers who had the severe misfortune of being under it. She held her hand out and the sword came back.

"Show-off." Stark muttered in her ear.

She smirked. She sheathed the sword once again and headed straight for the cube. Dr. Selvig was lying near it. His eyes were stuck to it.

"Dr. Selvig." She called. "I'd appreciate if you went inside." He didn't move. "Thought so." She mumbled.

And then, he did. He looked up at her as she stood over him. "Agent Wheaton?" He blinked several times.

"One and only." She flourished her hands. "Still hopelessly devoted to Loki or are you back to your senses?"

He sat up. "Senses. What are you doing up here?" She said she was going to close the portal. "You can't. It's too late. You can't stop it."

She looked out at the city scape. Thousands of Chitauri soldiers and their beasts terrorizing people she had sworn to protect. Down below, her team was fighting. She moved her attention to the portal where the army still came through.

"Wheaton, sending a present your way." Clint told her.

"Ooh, I love presents."

Sure enough, one crashed down behind her. She threw her attention back. At the sight of him, she grinned. She glanced back at the Tesseract. _Make a choice_, she told herself. Loki or the cube. Beat him bloody or close the portal.

"Portal it is." She decided. She could very well use her brother as a punching bag after. If she survived it.

"Need some help?" Nat was standing next to her.

Rose looked at her. "Yeah, I think so."

Selvig told them he was sure he built in a safety net. Something to cut the power source. Nat asked if it was the scepter and he said yes. He leaned over the edge of the scape. Rose craned her neck to see what he was looking at.

Loki's scepter.

"Get that scepter. It's Plan B." She ordered Nat. The other woman asked what Plan A was, because she sure as hell didn't know. "Me." Rose sighed.

She unlatched the braces and let them fall to the ground. The metal clanged against the cold concrete and she rolled her wrists.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" Nat hissed. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Rose cut her eyes. "Just get the scepter, will you?"

Nat rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else. The nearer Rose drew to the cube, the more her body burned. The tips of her fingers itched for contact. She knelt down on her knees and focused all her attention on the cube.

_Come on, come on_.

"Hey, beautiful." She murmured. She could feel the energy tickling against the tips of her fingers. "Let's play nice, okay?" Chaos bubbled up inside her. It overflowed through her lungs and shuddered out over her shoulders. Her hands went through the force field. "Ah, see? We're friends, aren't we?"

"Wheaton?"

She squinted her eyes shut, blocking out his voice.

"Agent Wheaton, do you copy?"

She tightened her shoulders and reached further. The energy of the force field around the cube tingled over her, hundreds of thousands of little tentacles sprinkled over her arms. She felt it even under her suit.

Her fingers curled around the edge of the Tesseract. Her eyes flew open. They were blown, blue tinged in gleaming gold. Power surged through her. Glorious, magnificent power. Pure, unadulterated chaos flowed over her.

"Wheaton, are you supposed to be glowing?"

"Thor, does your sister glow?"

"Can you shut the portal?"

"Yes." She finally answered. "I can-."

Something blasted her backwards. The cube slipped from her grasp as she flew through the air. Glass shattered around her back and she landed hard on something. She gasped up for breath, her chest burning.

She glanced over to her side. Loki was lying a few feet away, motionless. She groaned, resting her head on the floor.

"Rose? Wanna say something?" Steve called through the comms system.

She groaned in response. "Touching cube is a no-no." She pulled herself to her feet. Everything _hurt_. Stupid cube.

Nat relayed that she had the scepter and was well on her way to closing the portal. Tony reported that a nuke missile was coming into the city. That portal needed to stay open so he could put it through there. Rose made her way out to where Nat was standing. She had the scepter pushed through the force field, touching the Tesseract.

"That's a one-way trip." Steve told Tony.

Tony flew straight up the tower, a missile in his grasp. Rose clenched her hands into fists as he flew up into the dark expanse of the portal.

"Stark?" Rose whispered after a few seconds had gone by. "Tony?"

Below them, the Chitauri army collapsed. Soldiers in the air crashed down. The beasts fell in a slow but steady manner.

"Tony, you absolute ass, answer me." Rose pressed on her ear in the hope it would cause a reply.

"Close the portal down, Agent." Steve's voice commanded.

Nat glanced at Rose. Rose shook her head, _don't you dare_. Nat pulled the scepter out. The energy beam leading up to the portal disappeared and the portal began to close.

"Tony!" Rose shouted. "Get your ass back here!"

Something fell from the portal just as it drew to a close. A flash of red and gold in the sky. She exhaled. _Tony_.

He wasn't slowing down. If anything, he was speeding up the further he fell. The Hulk jumped through the air and caught Tony in his hand. He landed on the ground and sat Tony's body on the ground at his feet.

All the way above them, Rose and Nat heard the furious noise that escaped from the Hulk. And then…

"What happened?" Tony's voice was a more than welcome noise in her ear.

"Oh, thank God." Rose breathed, letting her shoulders slump.

Steve told Tony that they won the battle. The portal was closed, and the army defeated. Tony suggested they take a vacation day for tomorrow and perhaps go check out a shawarma joint a few blocks down. Always the optimist, Tony was.

Rose clapped Nat on the back. "Good work." She turned her head. Loki was still lying on the ground. Nat motioned for her to go. The team would be up soon anyway. Rose made her way inside.

She leaned over him and picked him up by the collar. His eyes fluttered open. She smiled at him.

"Nola." He groaned.

"Loki." She returned. "You and I have to have a little talk." He said he didn't like her version of talking. It included too many punches and not enough words. She tossed him into the wall.

He crumpled on the impact. She strode over to him and yanked him to his feet before shoving him against the wall. "You felt it, didn't you?" He grinned. "You felt the power. I know you did."

She pushed him harder against the wall. "That's enough from you."

He chuckled. "I know you, sister. You won't soon forget how glorious power like that is. You'll crave it. You're just like me."

She drew back and her arm reeled. Her fist connected with his jaw. She shook out her hand before hitting him again. And again. "I am _nothing_ like you!"

"What happened to leniency, little sister? Mercy?"

She snarled before hitting him again. "You aren't the only liar among us, Loki. You think I'd grant you leniency after what you've done?" She grabbed him by the throat and lifted him in the air. "You killed my friends. You're responsible for the death of hundreds." She squeezed her fingers. "I could do it. Just one little thought and you'd be dust in my hands." She loosened her grip and flung him towards the steps leading to the in-home bar. "But that, brother of mine, that would be mercy."

* * *

Nat and Clint flanked her as she stood with her arms crossed. Her two brothers stood in front of them. Loki was bound and his mouth muzzled over. Dr. Banner placed the Tesseract inside a tube in Thor's hands.

"Nola?" Thor looked at her expectantly. The question, though unsaid, was clear. _Will you come?_

She stepped forward. Rose didn't give Loki a half a glance. "No." She said softly to Thor. "Now more than ever, they need me. And now, more than ever, Asgard needs you."

He nodded and pulled her in for a hug. "We will meet again, soon." He assured her.

She pulled back with a smile on her face. She gestured to the Tesseract. "Lock it up. Keep it safe." She glanced over at their brother. "I want him contained with no possibility of escaping." She said. Thor understood. "When you come back, I hope it's under better circumstances."

"Don't we all?" Tony quipped.

She rolled her eyes and stepped back. She waved, telling Thor it was their time to depart. He thrusted the other end of the tube into Loki's hand. The contact produced a beam that shot up into the sky. Rose nodded once and Thor pulled Loki into it. When the beam disappeared, they were gone.

Rose heaved a sigh. A vacation day didn't sound half bad to her. She watched Tony and Dr. Banner get into Tony's car and drive off. Steve hauled himself onto his motorcycle. She half-waved at him before he drove off.

"Barton," Nat drew their attention, "our girl's got a crush on a super-soldier."

Rosalie narrowed her eyes at the two of them. "Shut up. Let's go." The three of them climbed into the black SUV. Rose got in the driver's seat and started the car.

"So, what? He didn't offer you a ride?" Barton teased.

She settled into the seat and began driving away. Steve had, in fact, offered her a ride. One she had wanted to accept. She explained her plan to him and suggested that after all was said and done, they have that talk he'd asked about. And Steve, well, he was a really understanding guy who had accepted her raincheck.

"Or did you say no?" Barton continued. "You should've said yes. You need to socialize more."

She shot him a glare through the rearview mirror. "I have plans tonight. We're getting together later on this week."

_Plans_, he and Nat both asked at the same time. She never had plans. What plans did she have?

She shifted uncomfortably. She didn't necessarily want to delve into her plan with them. Especially since she hadn't pitched it to Fury yet. But it was a plan he couldn't refuse. And if he did, well, she'd do it anyway.

* * *

"You're sure?" Fury asked for the seventeenth time. "You can do it?"

She nodded once, flexing her wrists. They stood at the edge of the wreckage that had once been the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility. Fury held the iridium braces in his hands. "They don't deserve to just lay down there any longer. They deserve proper burials."

Contrary to her original thought, Fury had not argued with her plan. Rather, he had been all for it. They had flown out to the facility immediately after she had pitched it. And now, they stood.

She could feel the destruction from the site, deep in her bones it lay there. Below them, underneath everything, there were dozens of bodies. Agents and scientists, people who deserved to be brought above ground and properly laid to rest. She could help them, and she would.

She knelt down and rested her palms flat on the cool ground. She closed her eyes and focused. _Build, build, build._

Underneath her hands, the ground rumbling. Energy bubbled up in her. Her entire body was tingling with it. Creation was the second ending of her chaos. She could destroy, but she could also create. Take something broken and make it new again. And that was exactly what she was doing.

Resurrecting the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility. Reconstructing the crumbled ruins of the mess her brother had made. Just enough so that the recovery teams could go in and bring out the dead.

She let her eyes open as the ground shook. Metal screeched against metal and stone roared out. She pressed down harder on the ground. From destruction came creation. From rubble came a haphazard rebuilt facility.

"Send the teams in." She told Fury. "I can't…" Her voice broke. Her eyes were growing heavy, body tired. In all honesty, she hadn't rested at all. She had gone straight to Fury after seeing Thor and Loki off. And from there, they had come to the facility.

Fury signaled for the teams to head in. Four teams of a dozen dashed into the newly remade building. "Wheaton?" He asked.

She looked up at him. "I'm okay." She nodded heavily. "I'm…" Her eyes fell shut and she lazily blinked them back open. "It'll hold for…for a while…" And she fell back.


End file.
